Liriope muscari - October 18th

The flowers on the Liriope muscari are quite similar to those of the spring flowering bulb - Muscari. However, there the similarity ends, for the Liripoe muscari is an evergreen perennial - non-bulbous, though tuberous - and flowers not in the spring, but in autumn.

It is good for planting in borders, where is also does quite a good job as 'groundcover'. It is happy in full sun, but also does a good job in dappled shade - even woodland, where the image above was taken.

Violet blue flowers start to appear in late summer and carry on through until late autumn. Foliage being narrow strap-like leaves, which tend to get a bit untidy as winter approaches.

Propagation and Care.

Liriope muscari can be grown from seed - best in trays or pots outdoors in sheltered place - and with slug protection! It is possible to collect the seed from the plant. The seed should be sown in spring, and grown on before either potting into small pots, or planting out into final positions where they will soon establish.

There are no basic pest or disease problems with this plant, though hungry marauding slugs can be troublesome in the spring - they like the your foliage of the Liriope muscari.

They are very tolerant of dry conditions once established, but also benefit from mulching with leafmould around the base of the clumps.

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