Variegated Liriope is an excellent ground cover plant
Aliases: Variegated Liriope. Latin name: Liriope platyphylla Wang et Tang
Origin and distribution:
Subtropical regions of China, growing in mountainous areas and moist places under dense forest in valleys.
Morphological characteristics:
Variegated Liriope, a variant of broadleaf Liriope, with plants about 30 cm tall. Roots slender, much branched, sometimes locally swollen into spindle-shaped small fleshy tuberous roots, with stolons. Leaves broadly linear, leathery, leaf margins golden yellow, with vertical stripes alternating silver-white and emerald green on the inner side of the margin, densely clustered in basal tufts.
Flower stems rise above the leaf tufts, flowers red-purple, in clusters of 4-5 in the axils of bracts, arranged in slender racemes.
Growth habits:
Seeds spherical, green at first, purple-black when mature. Variegated Liriope is suitable for shady places under trees, or grassland edges, or around water features; it is not particular about soil and can be widely planted in northern China, where the leaves do not wither in winter. New leaves sprout in mid-April, the flowering period is long, flower stems continue to emerge from late June to early September, and seeds mature in mid-September.
Landscape uses:
Variegated Liriope is currently a rare evergreen, cold-tolerant, drought-tolerant new superior variegated ground cover plant in gardens in both northern and southern China; it is grown both for foliage and flowers, and can be planted in the ground or in pots. It is an excellent variegated ground cover plant for embellishing forest edges, lawns, water features, rockeries and terraces in modern landscape gardens.
Propagation and cultivation:
Seeds mature in mid-September.
Variegated Liriope is generally propagated by division. In early April, old plants can be dug up, the upper leaves cut off, keeping the lower part 5-7 cm long, and planted in clumps of 2-3 plants per hole, with a row spacing of about 20 cm; after one year the bare ground can be completely covered. Variegated Liriope can also be propagated by sowing; spring sowing emerges in 50 days, with an emergence rate of about 80%. Seedlings raised in a nursery for one year can then be used for garden landscaping or indoor potted display.