PlantFiles: Black Mondo Grass
Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens'

Black mondo grass looks so nice popping out of bright white alyssum. Alyssum is low enough that it doesn't cover the black mondo grass. It has spread slowly but surely for me here in San Francisco -- I really like it.

Those little black "whiskers" certainly fill up a low, flat "plain" in a small area with delicate finesse. The flowers show up as dainty pearls irridescent with the faintest blush of pink. The "mountain" in our tiny "plain" is a low Japanese lantern. I need to adjust the neighboring jungle of uncouths to the character of this wonderful plant.

Yes, this plant is expensive. As mentioned above, just break off the berries a couple of weeks before your ground totally freezes for good and stick 'em in the ground. They will germinate late next spring and be about 90% true to the parents in having those black leaves (Perhaps there's a larger window of time to sow those berries; I've just mentioned what we do that works).

When i grew this plant, i was very disapointed. It was very very slow and it was 12.99 for a one gallon. I kept it dry, in sun and it never seemed to look good. After having it in the ground for 4 months, i decided to move it. Well what i found was the roots were all rotten and the leaves were still good. I dont know what caused this plants roots to rot out, like i said, they werent over watered. I just see this plant as hard to grow. Plus the leaves looked great for all those months, then to find all the roots were rotted, i was very disapointed.

This plant is in fact a member of the lily family, but is nearly always included in with grasses.

The leaves are evergreen, and make a good ground cover, creeping slowly, but never enough to be a nuisance.

The flowers are small and fairly insignificant, and these leave black seed heads.

I grew this on a south-facing patio, and I love its black colour. Unfortunately it grows very slowly in this climate. I do like this plant but I doubt I will buy it again, as it is a very expensive annual.

I love this plant, but would recommend it more as a small specimen plant than groundcover, as it takes time to get going. It does clump nicely, its foliage is gorgeous, and it's low maintainence. Great plant.

Agree with all neutral comments made here. Extremely slow and disappointing as a groundcover because it just doesn't fill up like the green and variegated varieties. Better used as specimen, IMO. Tried growing from seed; that was a joke. I haven't noticed a difference in growth rate of mother plant vs. runner, will pay attention. Having said all this, I will readily buy every rare chance I get.

I love this plant! It's worth waiting (and searching) for even though it is difficult to find, most likely because it is slow growing thus not as easy to propigate. How interesting that the "babies" seem to grow faster....I wonder if the parent plant is a tissue culture and why the "baby" would grow faster. Fascinating! I use this plant in groupings (planted fairly close) with Scotch Moss and other brightly foliaged plants...imagine it with Heuchera 'Amber Waves' and a pale-leaved Ajuga! It can usually be found through mail order nurseries if local nurseries don't carry it (click "Garden Watchdog" in the"DG Network" box...a great and helpful tool for finding vendors...Thanks Dave!)

I love the way this plant looks as an edging with almost anything... lamb's ear, things with pink blossoms, etc. But alas... it's not hardy here and I'm pretty useless with taking things in.

I have been growing this plant since 2001 and have had great luck with it. It is an extremely slow growing plant, but it does send out "little babies" on runners. It seems that these grow a little faster than the "mother" plant has(?) I really don't think it would be a good groundcover because, besides the fact that it's slow growing, I think in an area large enough to need groundcover this plant would be disappointing because the black leaves(blades?) tend to get dirty and dull looking. I only have about 6 throughout my garden both in pots and in the ground and it's definitely one of my favorites.

I grow a black Liriope and it is doing wonderfully. Not as tight and "cute" as the mondo grass, but still outstanding. I planted is mixed with the white varigated and it totally took over. Now I moved the white variety to glumbs adjacant, rather than inter-planted (my back yard in Wasington DC). I have the chance to go to the National Arboretum where they use mondo grass often and quite effectively.

Have just got hold of this plant, & so far, it's looking good... still in pot but have 5 of them to use. I'm in south east area of England so I believe it's quite new to this area. We get good sun & not too cold winters. The reports I've heard say that it thrives well here, so should like these conditions quite nicely.

I've only seen this plant once, in a pot at a "rare plant" nursery in the Atlanta, Georgia area. I'm now sorry I didn't buy it then, because I've never seen it offered anywhere again. Perhaps because it is a very slow grower, and doesn't really "make a solid cover" as a groundcover, it is not being propagated by a lot of plant nurseries. I do have the regular green Mondo Grass growing as a border in front of a white azalea bush, but I would like the black type too.

I've read that the flowers of 'Nigrescens' are white, sometimes flushed pink, but in my experience most Liriope and Ophiopogon flowers, no matter the color, are difficult to see due to their being so small, and often growing down into the rosette of foliage. I've had success with picking off the ripe seeds of Liriope and immediately burying it where I wanted it to grow, and the next Spring I had a lot of little plants. Since these two genera are so similar, I expect you could do the same with Ophiopogon too.

This plant is deer resistant.

I have just planted 'Nigrescens', black evergreen leaves, in my garden. It is said to have sprays of tiny pink flowers in summer, which I missed this year. I am, however patiently waiting for the shiny black berries promised in winter.