Liriope Plants

I have several liriope plants I planted two years ago and they are still the puniest, small, non-speading plants I've seen. They've got good soil, in sun, fertilizer, the whole bit and still they look like they are just runts!! They are green and look healthy, but are just pitifully small.

I had these at my former house up the driveway, and they are very pretty, but I'm not having the same luck at my house now.

Any suggestions on what to do to get these plants jump started to actually grow and spread?? Thanks!!

Are you sure they're liriope and not ophiopogon, which is painfully slow to grow and spread? Liriope has problems with full sun in hot areas of the US, but should handle it fine where you are. It is normally a hardy perennial needing little care once established.

What kind of soil do you have? Is it different than where you used to live?

Thank you for your responses, and I checked out photos of the ophiopogon, but that is not what I have. These shoot up the little purple plume-or they did at my old house, but not at my new house.

We have alot of clay here, so I usually take out alot of it out and replace around the plant with good soil. No, the soil isn't different, it is less than a 10 mile distance, so should be the same.

I really like this site and the ability to communicate like this. I hope to learn alot more about some plants I've only admired yet dare not try my hand at....so maybe I'll be seeing them take up residence in my gardens ;o)

Why don't you dig one up and see if you can tell anything from the roots. That really bothers me because I can't think of why they would not be growing. I moved some from the side of the house (small clumps) and they have done great.

My liriope doesn't really spread much. I think the plant probably grows larger each year, but not very quickly.

Does it get the same amount of sun as it did at your old place? And does it maybe have more competition from tree roots at your current house than it did at the old one? You might also consider getting the soil tested to see if it's missing something. I wouldn't necessarily count on the soil being the same as your old house...I have a 1/5 of an acre yard and there are areas that have different soil just in that small area, so over 10 miles there definitely could be differences. Even if the general type (clay/loam/etc) is the same, nutrient levels may be different depending on what's been put into the soil over the years. Or it could just be the "first year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap" thing happening, in which case you should hopefully start to see a bit more from them this year.

I had the solid green liriope in blazing sun for 7 or 8 years. It just sat there. I mean it did NOTHING. I finally removed it and put sun coleus there last summer. The coleus did beautifully. The variegated types are even slower (not as much chlorophyll).

Yes, I have the varigated kind, same as the old house.

Intresting on the soil, I may get the soil tested. They are in the full sun mostly from noon time on as with the way my old house faced.I truly never knew that the short distance the soild could differ some.

Ok, in my desparation, last night, I dug them up, removed even more of the dirt around them, replaced with good soil, which there was already good soil around them. I checked out the roots, they appear healthy, so before I put them back, I dunked them each in a solution of root stimulator, so I'll just wait and see if that does the trick.

I looked at some solid green ones we have planted on our creek bank to prevent erosion, and they have grown more in 3 years than my variegated ones have grown in 10. They also get more sun, so that may be part of it.

Let us know how they do. Soil can vary greatly. My front is red clay but the back is grey clay that I can bury a shovel in. I think it is partly from all the trees that used to be back there.