Plant Encyclopedia

Other Names:  Sweet Flag Grass

Description:

Though it is commonly known as sweet flag, this is actually a grass, not an iris; iris-like foliage is fragrant and great for moist or boggy areas; it is gold and green-striped but appears mostly gold; doesn't like to dry out or the tips will burn

Ornamental Features

Grassy-Leaved Sweet Flag is primarily valued in the garden for its ornamental upright and spreading habit of growth. Its attractive fragrant grassy leaves remain gold in color with prominent green stripes throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Grassy-Leaved Sweet Flag is a dense herbaceous perennial grass with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Grassy-Leaved Sweet Flag is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Container Planting
• Bog Gardens

Planting & Growing

Grassy-Leaved Sweet Flag will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is quite adaptable, prefering to grow in average to wet conditions, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Grassy-Leaved Sweet Flag is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a canvas of foliage against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.