What Is Monkey Grass?

Easy Maintenance

• One reason monkey grass is so prized is because it can grow in almost any soil type and other many weather conditions. It's drought-resistant, disease-resistant and even weed-resistant. Pests rarely invade it and it doesn't require fertilizer. It can be used to fill in problem areas in a yard and will even grow beneath trees and on slopes. The more aggressive spreading varieties can choke out more delicate plants if you're not careful.

Attractive

• Monkey grass comes in both clumping and spreading varieties. It's evergreen, so it will provide color to your yard at any season. You can expect attractive flowers in the summer and berries in the fall. Liriope muscari, the most common variety of monkey grass, has purple flowers and berries, but many others bear white flowers instead. Black mondo grass can provide a dramatic contrast with its extremely dark foliage, or try one of the varieties that has variegated leaves.

Trimming

• If your monkey grass grows too long, you can trim it without harming the plant. In fact, trimming will help to remove damaged leaves and encourage new growth. The best time to cut monkey grass is in the early spring before it begins to grow again. For most varieties, a height of 3 inches in appropriate. If you have large areas of it, you can use your lawnmower on a high setting. Otherwise, regular clippers are fine.

Uses

• Monkey grass makes an excellent living border, but only for clumping varieties. The kind of monkey grass that puts out running roots will spread on its own and is appropriate for bare patches that you want it to fill in. It is often planted around stone walkways or between paving stones and can fill in open areas beneath shrubs. On a large scale, it serves as lawn replacement for difficult areas. Monkey grass is shade tolerant, especially in hot areas.