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If you’re looking for a low-maintenance groundcover that also flowers, look no further than creeping lilyturf. This tough perennial has thick, blade-like foliage and forms attractive clumps. In this article, I’ll share more details about creeping lilyturf, along with how easy it is to grow and care for.
Meet Liriope spicata
Known botanically as Liriope spicata, other common names for creeping lilyturf include creeping liriope and monkey grass. The thick, dark green leaves are grass-like, and the plants grow in clumps much like a grass, but lilyturf is not a true grass. It spreads quickly, thrives even in less-than-ideal conditions, and is a tough ground cover. Creeping lilyturf produces erect flower spikes of purple blooms that are followed by a blue-black berry. The plants reach approximately 10 inches tall.
Traits that make creeping lilyturf a great groundcover
There are several traits of creeping lilyturf that make it an ideal choice for ground cover beds, un-mowable slopes, and areas around shallow-rooted trees where little else will grow.
Creeping lilyturf is:
- Fast growing
- Evergreen (or semi-evergreen, depending on your climate)
- Deer resistant
- Drought resilient
- Tolerant of road salt spray
- Flowering
- Pest resistant
- Unaffected by disease
Spreading via underground rhizomes, creeping lilyturf plants quickly grow together to form a mat. It’s a great choice for erosion control on slopes or sites where washout regularly occurs.
Where to plant creeping lilyturf
Liriope spicata is native to Asia and exhibits hardiness between USDA zone 4 and 10, meaning it survives winter temperatures down to -30°F. The ideal site has well-drained soil, though just about any soil type will be tolerated. Preferred sun levels are anything from full sun to partial shade, though it will survive even in full shade or heavy shade (but growth will be a little more sparse).
The best spacing for creeping lilyturf
This grass-like perennial creates uniform cover quickly. It is often used in mass plantings in areas where dense ground cover is needed. At first, clumps are the primary growth habit, but once the plants are established, they quickly blend together into a thick mat. Space young plants 12 to 15 inches on center. Within a few years, there will be little room for weeds due to the thick growth.
When does lilyturf bloom?
In mid to late summer, the plants produce upright spikes of pale lavender to white flowers. On this species, the blooms are less noticeable than on some other species of Liriope that produce larger, more colorful flower spikes. If eye-catching blooms are your goal, perhaps Liriope muscari, a close cousin of creeping lily turf, may be a better fit (more about this species later in the article). A few weeks after the flowers fade, blackish berries are produced on the stems.
How to care for creeping lilyturf
Liriope spicata is easy care. Here are some general information points worth keeping in mind:
- Keep new plants well watered through their first two seasons, until they are fully established. After that, the plants are drought tolerant.
- Mulch between the plants with a 1- to 2-inch-thick layer of hardwood bark mulch or shredded leaves to keep weeds at bay until the plants fill in.
- In early fall, trim off spent flower stalks to keep the plants from going to seed.
- The only serious pest of creeping lilyturf are slugs and snails. If you notice munched leaves and slime trails, use a slug bait based on iron phosphate or follow another one of these organic slug control tips.
- If your patch of creeping lilyturf is spreading out of bounds, consider installing a root barrier of metal garden edging to keep the plant from spreading beyond the intended site.
When to cut back creeping lilyturf
In warm climates, creeping lilyturf is evergreen, but in colder climates, it’s semi-evergreen. This means that winter dieback is not uncommon. Mow or cut last year’s unsightly foliage down to the ground in early spring, before any new growth begins. This gets rid of the old foliage and makes room for a flush of new growth which can quickly fill in liriope beds. Some gardeners opt to carefully prune out individual brown leaves, while others mow the entire plant down. Either option works.
An important word of warning
All of the traits that make creeping lilyturf a great groundcover choice, also make it potentially invasive. Because of this, Liriope spicata is on the invasive species list in a few states in the southern US. If there is potential for it spread out into adjacent turf areas or wild spaces where you live, try growing it where it is isolated from spreading, such as in between the curb and the sidewalk or next to a concrete patio or another hardscape feature that will form a barrier to uncontrolled spreading.
If you are looking for a less invasive species of lilyturf, its close cousin, Liriope muscari, is known as big blue lilyturf or giant lilyturf. It is a less aggressive spreader that stays in clumps. The leaves are wider, and the flowers are bigger than creeping lilyturf. Blooms of giant lilyturf appear in late summer and fall. Variegated forms have white stripes on the leaf edges. It is a great alternative, though it doesn’t spread in the same way creeping lilyturf does. It stays in tufts, rather than forming a mat.
For more ground cover options, please visit the following articles:
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