How to Grow and Care for Liriope in Your Garden

Liriope plants are a species of small, grass-like flowering perennials that are native to East and Southeast Asia. It grows purple flower spikes and long, pointy green leaves making it a popular choice as ground cover. Liriope is often used as an ornamental grass or hedging plant. Liriope is a low-maintenance plant that is drought and deer-resistant. It can flourish in most sun and soil conditions.

There are two types of liriope that are commonly used in landscaping: liriope muscari and liriope spicata. Liriope muscari is a large clumping plant that is typically used as an edging plant in a garden. Liriope spicata (also known as monkey grass or creeping lilyturf) is a creeping plant species that is typically used as a low-border grass.

Liriope can survive through winter in temperate climates, meaning it is possible to plant any time between early spring and late summer. In warmer climates, it is also possible to plant in the fall, but planting in spring and summer will give your liriope the best chance of thriving. Liriope grows well in USDA hardiness zones 4 to 10 and can thrive in a number of light conditions.

Once liriope is established, it can grow in many different light, soil, and climate conditions. Here is an overview of how to plant liriope from a seed.

1. 1. Harvest your seeds. Harvest your liriope seeds from the flowers of a blooming plant. Trim a few stems with robust flowers, and leave them to dry in a warm place. You can remove the seeds from your flowers after they have dried.
2. 2. Prepare your seeds. Twenty-four hours before you want to plant your seeds, prepare a bowl of warm water to soak your seeds in. Let your seeds soak.
3. 3. Germinate your seeds. Germinating your seeds before you plant them helps speed up the growing process. You’ll do this inside in a planting tray filled with moist and sterile soil. Bury your seeds in the tray at least one inch apart, then cover with ¼ inch potting soil. Mist the seeds with water and wrap them in a large bag to create a greenhouse effect. Place your tray in a warm area of your home and moisten it regularly. Seedlings should sprout within a month, at which point you can plant your liriope in the ground.
4. 4. Choose your location. Liriope grows well in full sun or partial shade, and if it is well-established it can even tolerate very little sun. Choose a location in your garden that gives it the right amount of sunlight.
5. 5. Prepare your soil. Liriope grows best in well-draining soil that is slightly acidic to neutral. Make sure to loosen your soil lightly with a trowel when you’ve chosen your spot.
6. 6. Plant your liriope. Delicately dig up your liriope seedlings to make sure that their nascent root structures stay intact. Plant your seedlings in the holes you’ve dug in your garden. Leave one foot of space between multiple liriope plants. Water your seedlings immediately after planting.
7. 7. Mulch your soil. Mulch the ground around your planted liriope with wood chips or organic mulch to help conserve moisture in the summer months and avoid weeds.

Liriope is a hardy grower and will not need much care once it is established. Here are a few things you can do to properly care for your liriope.

1. 1. Give it the right amount of water. As your liriope is growing, water it a few times a week but not every day because this can make the soil boggy. Once the liriope is developed, you can scale back waterings to once a week.
2. 2. Fertilize your plant after a cold winter. If your liriope dies back during the winter, you can feed it with some slow fertilizer in the early spring to help it recover.
3. 3. Prune your plant to prevent it from becoming invasive. Liriope is such a hardy grower that it can quickly get out of control and overtake neighboring plants. When it looks like your liriope is running wild, prune it back to keep it in control.
4. 4. Monitor your plant for diseases. While hardy, liriope is susceptible to a number of diseases and pests. Anthracnose is a fungal disease that can be identified through reddish-brown spots on the leaves. Pruning is the best defense against anthracnose. Liriope is also vulnerable to leaf and crown rot which shows up as in yellowing inner foliage. Affected plants should be removed to stop the spread of disease.
5. 5. Winterize your plant. If you have cold winters, you can cover your plant’s root structure in a layer of mulch to help it withstand the low temperatures.

If you want to propagate your liriope plants from seed, you can harvest them from the plant’s purple flowers once they're in full bloom. This usually occurs in late summer or early fall. Trim the flowers with scissors or gardening shears and leave them to dry in a warm place. Once the flowers are dry, you can remove their seeds by hand. The seeds will only keep for a couple of weeks, so be prepared to replant your seeds in that amount of time.

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