Mondo Grass is a cover crop — grown to build and protect the soil rather than for a harvest of its own. It's hardy across USDA zones 7 through 10, shrugs off deer and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. Its summer flowers are a modest draw for honeybees.
Mondo Grass — the short answer
Mondo Grass: grown in zones 7–10, shade, pH 5–7.
- USDA zones
- 7–10
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 5–7
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Sun
- Shade
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Mondo Grass on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether mondo grass actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score mondo grass against your land's real conditions.
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What Mondo Grass is
Mondo Grass grows as a perennial and reaches around a foot at maturity. It blooms white in summer. It's also deer-resistant and well suited to containers.
How to grow Mondo Grass
Mondo Grass grows in USDA zones 7 through 10. Mondo Grass does best in shade — at least 2 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5 to 7, on well-drained ground. It needs a growing season of at least 180 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
7-10
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
5 - 7
Growable Ground Plant Database
Sun
Shade
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
1 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
180+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant mondo grass in shade with at least 2 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
Mondo Grass prefers pH 5 to 7 (Growable Ground Plant Database). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Turn it in before it seeds
Cut mondo grass down or turn it into the soil before it sets seed, while the growth is still green — that's when it returns the most to the ground.
Where Mondo Grass thrives
Mondo Grass is hardy across USDA zones 7 through 10. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 7–10 spans average winter lows from 0°F to 40°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 7 outright and splits 34 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 7–10·Where Mondo Grass growsOpen map →
Where Mondo Grass stands, state by state
Mondo Grass is rated for zones 7–10 — a cold floor USDA puts at 0 to 10°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 7 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 34 more, and 10 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 7–10
7 states
- Alabama · zones 7b-9b
- Delaware · zones 7a-8a
- District of Columbia · zones 7b-8a
3 of 7 shown
The line runs through
34 states
3 of 34 shown
Mondo Grass’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
Outside zones 7–10
10 states
- Minnesota · zones 3a-5a
- Montana · zones 3a-6b
- New Hampshire · zones 3b-6b
3 of 10 shown
Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant often works in a container that comes under cover. Each link is that state’s own growing hub.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Mondo Grass
Growing guides for mondo grass
In rotation planning, mondo grass counts as a Other — beds recover best when other crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Related plants in grass/groundcover
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — mondo grass isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Mondo Grass offers low value to bees and other pollinators.
Your land is one point inside Mondo Grass's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Mondo Grass will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether mondo grass actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
How we know this about Mondo Grass
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Mondo Grass in my zone?
Mondo Grass grows in USDA hardiness zones 7 through 10 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Mondo Grass?
Most growers plant mondo grass after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, leaving enough of the season for its 180-day frost-free need. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Mondo Grass need?
Mondo Grass is shade-tolerant — it gets by on as little as 2 hours of direct sun, so it earns a place most vegetables can't use. A north-facing strip or the ground under a leafy canopy is right where it belongs. A Growable Ground report shows which corners of your land stay shaded through the day, turning those dim spots into planting spots.
What soil does Mondo Grass need?
Mondo Grass prefers soil pH 5 to 7, on well-drained ground (Growable Ground Plant Database). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Mondo Grass attract pollinators?
Yes — mondo grass's flowers are a modest nectar source for honeybees.
Is Mondo Grass safe for pets?
Mondo Grass is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)