How to Care for Liriope
As you go through your routine of driving to the work or the store and walking in the evenings, look at existing plantings for what type of look you want. There are dwarf varieties, thin leaved varieties and taller varieties. The leaves can be deep blue/green, green or varigated with white stripes amongst the green stripes.
Once you have chosen a favorite type of Liriope you can start with site selection and preparation. Liriope can grow in full sun to full shade. If you do not currently have plantig on the site, then go ahead and start planting the Liriope about 4 inches apart. If you do have grass or another groundcover you will want to start two weeks ahead of time and spray with Round Up or another herbicide, wait a week and spray again. Follow directions on herbicide.
After you have planted, mulch with a few inches of mulch to keep the weeds between the Liriope plants down. Eventually the Liriope will take over the area and weeds between the plants will not be a problem and mulching will no longer be needed.
The first summer after planting you may need to water if they begin to droop in a dry period. After the first summer they should be very drought tolerant.
Once a year they need to be trimmed. It is hard to give a date on the calendar when this should be done because the weather varies from year to year. Instead, time the trimming of the previous years growth with the blooming of the Forsythia. When the bright yellow Forsythia begins to unfurl its first few petals, trim the Liriope. If the area is completely covered by Liriope then just run over it with the lawnmower. If the Lioriope is still in it’s first few years and there is much that you do not want to pick up, use heavy shears or clippers to trim by hand.
If the Liriope gets so thick that it begins to choke out the center, just dig out the center and random sections throughout the bed. Fill the holes with dirt and the Liriope will soon fill in the old sections with bright, new growth.
Written by Stratus