Growing Sweet Flag Grass: Tips at a Glance
Japanese sweet flag grass is a beautiful accent plant or massed ground cover near water gardens, along streams or ponds, or in moist, open woodland gardens.
- Type Grass
- Lifespan Perennial
- USDA Zones 5-11
- Light Sun or shade
- Water Thirsty
- Soil Moist, please
- Where to Plant Water's edge
- Design Tip Rock garden
- Companions Acanthus
Sweet Flag Grass: A Field Guide
Happily at home in wetlands, marshes or at the edge of a backyard pond, Acorus grasses are useful plants in boggy soil.
There are many varieties of two species, Acorus calamus grasses (native to North America) have tall, dense-growing clumps and Acorus gramineus (native to Asia) is widely used as a lower-growing ground cover, edging plant, or in clumps in wet areas of a garden.
The slender, long leaves of Acorus have for centuries been used by weavers to create baskets, and mats. A. calamus has additional medicinal properties and has been widely used in natural medicine as a topical anti-inflammatory treatment.