Liriope Plant Profile

Liriope spicata and Liriope muscari are also known as Lily Turf or Monkey Grass. They are tough, low-maintenance plants that are commonly used for an evergreen groundcover. They are hardy from USDA Zones 4-10 and native to Asia.

Both kinds of Liriope are grass-like perennials that grow to about a foot tall. There are solid colored and variegated foliage versions of both species are available. In late summer, they send up pretty spikes of purple or white flowers, which are sometimes followed by dark berries in the fall.

Liriope grow well in many types of soil and can thrive in full sun to part shade. They do not like sitting in wet ground for long periods of time and are drought-tolerant once established. They do not need fertilizing.

The only maintenance Liriope needs are to sheer them back in late winter or early spring to cut off the last season’s fading foliage and make way for fresh leaf growth.

The essential thing to know about the two species is that Liriope spicata is a spreading plant, while Liriope muscari is a clumping one. Both have their uses from holding in a slope to covering exposed soils to edging a garden bed, but caution should be exercised before planting Liriope spicata as it can be next to impossible to remove it in future years. Thus, Liriope spicata is considered invasive in some areas.

You can dig and divide either species every few years, if you wish to spread the plants to other areas of your landscape.  

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Video and Audio by Kathy Jentz

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