Plant: Variegated - Liriope
Liriope · Liriope muscari 'Variegata'
Size: 4" square pot
Light
Bloom
Mature size
More about this plant
Variegated Liriope, commonly known as Variegated Lilyturf or Monkey Grass, is an evergreen, grass-like perennial that forms dense clumps of narrow, arching leaves striped white along the edges, about 1 to 1.5 feet tall and wide, with purple flower spikes in late summer and early fall followed by black berries that persist into winter. It grows in acidic to neutral, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade, tolerates drought, salt and deer once established, and brightens edging along walks, beds and shady spots under trees. Cut the tops back each February before new growth begins.
- Full Sun
- Grows to 1.5 ft tall and 2.5 ft wide
- Blooms in summer, fall
- Hardy in USDA zones 6-9
- Evergreen foliage
Plant description
Variegated Liriope, commonly known as Variegated Lilyturf or Monkey Grass, is an evergreen, grass-like perennial that forms dense clumps of narrow, arching leaves striped white along the edges, about 1 to 1.5 feet tall and wide, with purple flower spikes in late summer and early fall followed by black berries that persist into winter. It grows in acidic to neutral, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade, tolerates drought, salt and deer once established, and brightens edging along walks, beds and shady spots under trees. Cut the tops back each February before new growth begins.
- Flowers
- Small, purple to lavender, six-parted flowers densely clustered on an erect spike-like raceme 6 to 8 inches tall, blooming August to September.
- Foliage
- Narrow, linear, grass-like evergreen leaves about 1 inch wide and 1 to 1.5 feet long in dense basal clumps, with an entire margin and a smooth slippery surface. The cultivar Variegata has white-striped leaves.
- Fruit
- Globose berries about 1/3 inch across, green at first and ripening to shiny black, persisting through winter.
- Pruning
- Cut back the tops each February, before new growth begins.
- Native range
- China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea
