Sweet Flag Variegatus Versus Monkey Grass

Appearance

• Neither are true grasses, although monkey grass and variegated sweet flag both have a grasslike appearance, with their long, narrow leaves and lack of conspicuous flowers. Their resemblance to each other goes no further, however. Variegated sweet flag has a stiff, upright growth habit, reaching 2 to 3 feet in height, and is a dazzling yellow-green color with creamy-white variegation. The deep green foliage of monkey grass is a stark contrast to sweet flag, and the plant is shorter. It has softly arching leaf blades from 10 to 18 inches tall.

Growing Conditions

• Both monkey grass and variegated sweet flag tolerate sun and shade. However, monkey grass grows happily in the darkest corners of the landscape, while sweet flag needs at least filtered sunlight. Sweet flag is a moisture-loving bog plant, growing happily in up to 3 inches of standing water. It requires consistently moist soil at a minimum. Monkey grass is a nearly indestructible ground cover, growing in almost any soil except boggy conditions. Variegated sweet flag does not have the extreme adaptability of monkey grass; it needs rich, fertile soil conditions to look its best.

Landscape Uses

• Variegated sweet flag is one of the most striking ornamental plants for growing in bog gardens. It can also be used effectively as a large-scale ground cover in the partial shade of deciduous trees. Monkey grass is unmatched as a tough, low-maintenance ground cover, especially in deep shade where few other plants thrive. Monkey grass may also be used as an edging plant to create a uniform, evergreen border at the edge of a lawn or around beds of annuals or flowering perennials. The greatest downside of monkey grass is it's invasive potential -- it grows so easily, it can quickly creep into areas where it was never intended to grow.

Similar Varieties

• Other types of monkey grass have slightly different habits. Mondo grass (Ophiobogon japonicus) grows in USDA zones 6 to 9 and is also commonly called monkey grass. Its appearance is similar, but it has much finer leaves and stays smaller than the other varieties. Variegated sweet flag can also refer to another, closely related species, the variegated Japanese rush or dwarf sweet flag (Acorus gramineus), which grows in USDA zones 5 to 8. This plant is almost identical to sweet flag, but smaller, growing only 6 to 12 inches in height. To confuse things even further, there are also variegated forms of monkey grass that bear a striking resemblance to the variegated dwarf sweet flag.