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Liriope minor
Lily Turf
Plant Type:
GRASSES & GRASS-LIKE PLANTSLiriope minor - This species of Lily Turf has dark, leathery green fine grass-like blades growing to as much as one foot tall. Liriope minor is evergreen and semi-glossy, too. Lavender late summer flowers give way to showy, glossy dark blue berries in autumn which in the milder range will last much of the winter. Site in part shade in fertile, draining soil. Ahhh - a lawn that doesn't have to be mowed... but then again, one that you can't really traverse repeatedly without damage. Darn! This plant exhibits strong resistance to anthracnose. For gardeners towards the northern end of its range spring planting is advised. For more information please scroll down to the Genus Overview below. Division.
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Characteristics and Attributes for Liriope minor
Season of Interest (Flowering)
- Late Summer
Season of Interest (Foliage)
- Four Seasons
Autumn Interest
- Fruit / Berries / Seed Heads
Light
- Morning Sun / Afternoon Shade
- Dappled Shade
- Mostly Sunny
Attributes
- Massing
- Collector Plant
- Drought Tolerant
- Edging
- Bank
- Evergreen
- Ground Cover
Growth Rate in the Garden
- Medium
Soil
- Draining
- Fertile
Origins
- China
- Japan
- East Asia
Propagated By
- Division
Genus Overview: Liriope
Common Name: Monkey Grass
This is the grass-like Lily Turf; they are, indeed, members of the Liliaceae and despite their appearance are not grasses in the least. Preferring fertile moisture retaining soil they are, nevertheless, drought tolerant and handle heat and humidity well once established. They are adaptable from full sun to open shade but are no doubt happier in more sun at the northern end of their range. When planted in USDA zone 5b they must be sheltered. Spring planting is strongly advised in the north. All of the following selections are pot grown from division.
Liriopes are susceptible to anthracnose - some cultivars more so than others. The new season's foliage will be fine with some spotting showing generally only late season, more noticeable on cultivars which are more prone. There is no cure for anthracnose. Odds are this omnipresent fungus is already in your landscape and will manifest with greater prominence in cooler, damper and wetter seasons and especially later season when temperatures cool and dampness increases. If you are fine with using heavy duty fungicides then these may be modestly helpful but again: there is no cure; these toxic chemicals will have to be re-applied annually and perhaps more than once according to label directives. Please note that fungicides are notoriously toxic to all manner of life, you included. If you desire cultivars with greater anthracnose resistance then search for newer cultivars that have been bred with greater resistance as the goal such as 'Super Blue', 'Cleopatra', 'New Blue' and 'Emerald Goddess' plus all dark green varieties. Or consider this stragegy: enjoy them when clean during the growing season; cut them back in late winter / early spring and rake the severed leaves, collect, bag and throw away.