Black Mondo Grass

Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 5b-10b Find Your Zone

Plant Type: Evergreen Perennial

Height at Maturity: 8-10″

Width at Maturity: 12″+
Spacing: 6-12″ for mass plantings

Growth Habit / Form: Arching, Clumping, Grassy, Spreading, Tufted

Growth Rate: Moderate

Flower Color: Pinkish-Lavender to White

Flower Size: Small, clustered on spikes

Flowering Period: Summer

Flower Type: Bell-shaped

Fragrant Flowers: No

Foliage Color: Blackish, Dark Purple, Dark Green

Fragrant Foliage: No

Berries: Yes

Berry Color: Black

Sun Needs: Full Sun, Full Shade, Part Sun, Part Shade

Water Needs: Average to Low when established

Soil Type: Clay, Loam, Sandy (amended), Silty

Soil Moisture / Drainage: Well-Drained Slightly Moist, Well Drained Dry

Soil pH: 5.5 – 6.5

Maintenance / Care: Low to none

Attracts: Visual Attention

Resistances: Deer – more info, Disease, Dry Soil, Heat, Humidity, Insect

Description

With some of the most striking black foliage of any perennial, ‘Nigrescens’ Black Mondo Grass grows slowly to form attractive arching clumps of grassy foliage 8 to 10 inches tall. No matter the light conditions, the new leaves emerge a deep green and turn to black. White to pinkish bell-shaped flowers rise above and contrast beautifully with the dark foliage. This easy to grow plant is ideal for use in containers, as a groundcover, and for bordering walkways and paths in the shady or sunny areas of your landscape.

Landscape & Garden Uses

Growing 8 to 10 inches tall and 18 inches or more wide, Black Mondo Grass is ideal for use as an accent, grouping or border edger in home foundation plantings and landscape borders. Perfect for use as an underplanting for small trees such as Japanese maples or a groundcover under large shade trees. Also serves nicely as a solo or grassy accent in combination container gardens. A fine addition to black color theme gardens, Asian gardens, rock gardens, and nestled between boulders around the garden pond.

Suggested Spacing: 6 to 7 inches apart for quicker fill as groundcover; 8 to 12 inches apart if you have patience

How To Measure Total Square Feet Of A Planting Area

How Many Plants Needed To Cover A Planting Area?

Note: For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Hardiness Zone 5b, where this Mondo Grass variety is not reliably winter hardy, you’ll be happy to know it can be grown in containers that can be brought indoors during winter and placed back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.

Growing Preferences

Black Mondo Grass is easy to grow in most any moist but well-drained soil of average fertility and part shade to full shade. Morning sun is okay. Filtered all day sun is okay. Constantly soggy or wet soils can be problematic, though temporary flooding is okay.

Helpful Articles

Click on a link below to get helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for Mondo grass.

How To Plant Mondo Grass Plants

How To Fertilize, Prune & Water Mondo Grass Plants

How To Measure Square Feet of A Planting Area

Determining How Many Plants To Fill A Planting Area

Plant Long & Prosper!

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Questions? Contact Us!

I received a healthy plant, nicely packed. So far it’s growing happily in the garden with many new shoots. I love it. This is a third time I have bought plants from Wilson brothers and have been completely satisfied every time. Thank you and good luck to you all!———————————Thanks for the kind words and wonderful review! We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG