Common Name Biological Name Type Family Native Range Zone Height Spread Bloom Time Bloom Description Sun Water Maintenance Suggested Use Flower Tolerate |
creeping liriope Liriope spicata Herbaceous perennial Asparagaceae China, Vietnam 4 to 10 0.75 to 1.50 feet 1.00 to 2.00 feet August to September Lavender to white Full sun to part shade Medium Low Ground Cover, Naturalize Showy Rabbit, Deer, Drought, Erosion, Air Pollution |
Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Prefers moist, fertile soils in part shade. Spreads quickly by underground rhizomes to form colonies, and can be quite aggressive. Mow in early spring to remove old foliage. Liriope spicata is a rhizomatous, grass-like perennial which forms a clump of narrow, arching, glossy, dark green leaves (to 1/4″ wide) typically growing 9-15″ high. Erect flower spikes with pale lavender to white flowers arise, somewhat hidden, among the leaves in late summer. Flowers often give way to blackish berries in fall. Evergreen in the South, but can turn brown considerably in areas with cold winters. Genus name honors a Greek woodland nymph, Liriope, the mother of Narcissus. Specific epithet means spike-bearing. Common name of lily turf acknowledges the plant’s turf-like growing habit. It is not a grass and was previously place in the lily family but is now placed in the asparagus family |
Information on this page is from Missouri Botanical Gardens, Dave’s Garden, All things Plants, Texas Superstar or Aggie Horticulture |
This page last updated or reviewed [211004]