The Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag, otherwise known as the Acorus Gramineus ‘Minimus Aureus’ or Golden Variegated Sweet Flag, Golden Dwarf Sweet Flag, Grassy-Leaved Sweet Flag, is a rather well known perennial plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and slow growth, this perennial will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its light green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag are the following:
- Water: The Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag loves moist soil but will still survive dusty soil when it is established.
- Light: Keep your Acorus Gramineus ‘Minimus Aureus’ in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag in soil with poorly draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of loam, chalk, and clay.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag belongs to the Acoraceae family, the genus Acorus and the species Gramineus, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Acorus Gramineus ‘Minimus Aureus’ (a-KO-rus grah-MIN-ee-us AW-ree-us MIN-eh-mus).
As with other Acorus’s, the Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag is a semi-evergreen plant, which means it will shed its leaves but only for a short period of time.
Growing Region
You might be wondering why your Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Acorus Gramineus ‘Minimus Aureus’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 2 – 11 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 3, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag is a relatively slow grower, which makes things easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Acorus Gramineus ‘Minimus Aureus’ can grow up to 6″ – 1′ (15cm – 30cm) in 6″ – 1′ (15cm – 30cm) and 6″ – 1′ (15cm – 30cm) in 6″ – 1′ (15cm – 30cm).
These dimensions make the Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag a relatively medium perennial compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 12″ (30cm) free so the Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Acorus Gramineus ‘Minimus Aureus’ loves moist soil but will still survive dusty soil when it is established.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average to high needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag in soil with poorly draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has frequent standing water, and occasionally wet properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag prefers to have soil with frequent standing water, and occasionally wet properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of loam, chalk, and clay.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this perennial will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Acorus Gramineus ‘Minimus Aureus’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a semi-evergreen plant, the Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag will shed its leaves but only for a short period of time.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag to flower around the spring and in the summer months from April to June (spring), and from July to September (summer).
The Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag produces some wonderful green, gold/yellow and insignificant flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag have a beautiful light green color during most of the year.
You can expect the leaves from your Acorus Gramineus ‘Minimus Aureus’ to be around (> 6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag is well known for its tolerance to wet soil, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Acorus Gramineus ‘Minimus Aureus’ will be fine.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag will look best in it.
Most Acorus Gramineus ‘Minimus Aureus’ owners agree that this perennial will look great in most contemporary, asian/zen and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage styles.
In particular, the Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag’s best location within your garden is in edging, ponds and streams, beds and borders, ground covers, and in small gardens, others use it for landscaping in a ground cover, water garden, border, erosion control, very wet areas, mass planting, edging, container, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Heuchera, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Itea will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
