Emerald Cascade Lilyturf

Emerald Cascade Lilyturf (Liriope muscari 'Emerald Cascade') is the strappy border plant to choose when you want a soft green edge that keeps its shape without becoming a job. It settles at about 40cm tall and 50cm wide, with arching foliage that spills over a path edge, and purple flower spikes through summer. It clumps rather than runs, so it stays exactly where you plant it.

Why you'll love it

• It stays where you put it. A clumping liriope, not a runner like mondo grass, so the edge you plant is the edge you keep.
• The weeping form softens hard lines. Arching leaves break the line of paving, steps and retaining wall tops instead of drawing attention to it.
• Purple flowers through summer. Slim spikes lift clear of the foliage, then dry to dark berries that hold into autumn.
• Low maintenance and pet friendly. One shear a year is the entire pruning routine, and the foliage is not toxic to cats or dogs.

Where it works best

Borders and edging. Plant 40cm apart for a continuous border. At that spacing the clumps meet by the end of the first full season and read as one flowing line.

Mass planting and groundcover. The same 40cm grid works out at about six plants per square metre. It is a sound answer for dry shade under an established tree, where lawn gives up.

Pots and small gardens. One clump fills a 300mm pot, and three in a trough give a balcony a low green rail.

Growing Emerald Cascade Lilyturf in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun to part shade both work, though the leaf colour stays deeper with afternoon shade in hot gardens. It is frost hardy enough for cool temperate districts and humidity tolerant in the subtropics and tropics, a wider range than most border plants manage.

Soil. Poor soil is tolerated, which is why it copes under hungry tree roots. Drainage matters more than fertility, so raise the bed on heavy clay and work compost through.

Water and feed. Deep water once or twice a week through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. A controlled release fertiliser in early spring covers the year.

Pruning. Shear the whole planting to about 10cm in late winter, before the new leaves push. Skip it and browned leaf tips sit in the clump for another twelve months.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes in two sizes, a 140mm pack of 10 and a 200mm pack of 6. Both are established clumps carrying several fans of leaf. The 140mm pack is the better value over a long border, while the 200mm plants look full from day one. A few creased leaves after transit are normal and grow out.

Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Expect roots to take hold within a month in warm weather, and a noticeably wider clump by the second season. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Using Liriope muscari in a landscape
• Browse grasses and strappy leaf plants
• Choosing edging plants for garden beds
• More plants that are safe around pets

Common questions

How many plants do I need?

Two and a half per metre in a single row at 40cm spacing, so a pack of 10 covers about four metres of border. For a mass planting allow six per square metre.

Will it spread into the lawn?

No. It widens slowly as a clump rather than sending out runners, so the line between bed and lawn stays where you drew it.

Does it flower in shade?

It wants a few hours of direct sun for a good show of spikes. In deep shade the foliage stays healthy but flowering thins out.