Liriope lesson

Sorry for the break in service - I've been away. I promise to pull my socks up this week, not least because without urgent attention, fat hen threatens to strangle all my seedlings.

I mentioned I'd bought a liriope at a plant sale last week. It was one of those purchases driven purely by thinking "ooh, that's rather nice ... [reads label] a liriope, what on earth is that? Oh well, it's only 50p, can't go wrong really ..."

So I brought it home, fired up the interweb and found this.  The news was heartening. Purple/blue flowers - very this season and also in tune with my vague silver/blue/white garden colour scheme; low-maintenance ground cover - music to any gardener's ears; and suits shade or sun - result! How come I'd never heard of this little gem before?

My only slight fear is that, like the periwinkle I tried to eradicate from the garden, it could be invasive. Do let me know if you have any liriope experience you'd like to share ...

Comments

[Kevin Meade Laurence]

Liriope (aka Lily Turf) is extremely invasive. It grows via rhizomes which spread everywhere. We removed every bit of it from our garden two years ago, and there are still new shoots appearing this spring. Looks great in containers until the leaves inevitably turn brown. Disappointingly, I never managed to get it to flower.

[Jane Perrone]

Thanks Kevin, you've confirmed my worst fears ... this may be one to keep in a pot ...

[Garden Blog]

No! It depends entirely on what variety you bought. The variegated forms grow very slowly and form attractive clumps. Many of the green varieties also grow slowly and can easily be kept in check by edging once every one or two years. In the Southeast liriope (monkeygrass, border grass) is very popular as a border or flower bed edging.

[Linda Ray]

In Louisiana, liriope is a very popular plant. It's very slow to spread...actually, it doesn't really 'spread', the plant clump just gets bigger and bigger over the years. It's quite easy to divide and share with friends. It never needs fertilizing, spraying or hardly any attention. It's drought resistant, too. The flower spikes are a pretty blue. We trim off the tops in late winter by just running the lawn mower over it before the new growth arrives. People use it as edging around beds, but I use it under a tree as a ground cover since tree roots will ruin my mower. It's green year round in my climate..we may have a couple of hard freezes in the winter, but the liriope doesn't even die back.

[Bloomin Designs]

Some varieties of Liriope are very invasive. We have several different varieties, and I have given away (and been cursed) lots of one variety. Most are slow growers and next week we are suppose to get some Black Mondo which is a very slow grower.
The invasive kind should be grown only where it can be "hemd in" or where you want it for errosion control, etc.

[shane white]

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF LIRIOPE IN GENERAL,MUSCARI&SPICATA.MUSACARI HAS A CLUMPING HABIT & SPREADS SLOWLY,SPICATA SPREADS BY UNDERGROUND RHIZOMES WITH NEW SHOOTS POPING UP AS RHIZOMES GROW.PLANT MUSCARI & YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SPREADING.

[Gary]

I have several kinds of liriope here in Houston.If you plant the the invasive kind(spicata)in the ground, you will know after a few weeks or months because it will throw up a sister plant about a foot or so away. It is not invasive by seed, only by rhizome. I bought one of these several years ago out of curiosity a few years ago and it soon happened to me. I just pulled up the whole thing, original plant, sister plant, and rhizome in between. It has never come back. So dont worry. Plant it in the ground.

Liriope is one of my favorite plants. If you are in zone 8b/9a like I am, it is one of the easiest plants in the world to grow. I transplanted one once and for got to put it in the ground. It was just sitting in my garden on bare ground with a small amount of dirt around its roots, and it lived there for months. It didn't grow, but it didn't die either.

Liriope is a fabulous plant. It is one of the few plants I know of that tolerates both droughts and very poor drainage. It is also almost impervious to insects.

The only slight drawback liriope has is the leaves may eventually burn toward the tips if planted in full sun in a hot climate. It won't hurt the plant, but it detracts a bit from its appearance. To remedy this just mow over it in spring and it will come right back. An amazing plant if you are in the right zone for it.