{"title":"Liriope and Mondo Grass","description":"\u003cp\u003eThese two look alike on a bench and behave differently in the ground, so the distinction is worth getting right before you order. Liriope is a true clumper. Each plant widens slowly from a fixed crown and stays where it is put, which makes it reliable for edging a path or holding a defined line. Mondo grass is Ophiopogon, and Ophiopogon japonicus travels on short underground stolons, knitting neighbouring plants into a continuous mat over a few seasons. One is a row of individuals, the other is a carpet. Choose on that basis first and on leaf colour second.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLiriope carries wider leaves, roughly 30 to 40cm of height in \u003ca href=\"\/products\/liriope-muscari\"\u003eLiriope muscari\u003c\/a\u003e, and spikes of purple flowers that stand clear of the foliage in late summer. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/liriope-evergreen-giant\"\u003eEvergreen Giant\u003c\/a\u003e reaches nearer 60cm and reads as a small flax, so it works as a single defining row rather than a carpet. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/liriope-emerald-cascade-pbr\"\u003eEmerald Cascade\u003c\/a\u003e arches instead of standing upright, which suits the top of a retaining wall or the rim of a large pot. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/liriope-just-right-pbr-lirj\"\u003eJust Right\u003c\/a\u003e is the compact selection, tidier and lower for narrow borders.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe mondo grasses are finer, darker and lower, with flowers hidden down inside the foliage and blue berries after them. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/ophiopogon-japonicus\"\u003eOphiopogon japonicus\u003c\/a\u003e sits at about 20 to 25cm. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/ophiopogon-japonicus-nana\"\u003eOphiopogon japonicus Nana\u003c\/a\u003e is the dwarf at 5 to 10cm, used between pavers and as a lawn substitute in low-traffic shade. Both come in 10 Pack and 800mm Strips for covering ground economically. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/ophiopogon-planiscapus-nigrescens\"\u003eOphiopogon planiscapus Nigrescens\u003c\/a\u003e is black mondo, which needs pale gravel or light mulch behind it to register at all, and which colours closer to black with morning sun than it does in deep shade.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpace liriope at 30 to 40cm centres, standard mondo at 20cm and dwarf mondo at 10 to 15cm. Be realistic about the dwarf: planted at 15cm it takes two to three growing seasons to close into a mat, and until then the bed reads as mulch with plants in it, so either plant tighter and spend more or wait. Liriope and standard mondo fill in far quicker. All of them want regular water through the first summer, since the dry shade tolerance comes once roots are down rather than on planting day. Shear liriope and standard mondo back to about 5cm in late winter, before new growth pushes, and leave dwarf and black mondo alone beyond tidying dead leaves by hand, because they regrow too slowly to hide a blunt cut.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor the same strappy look in open sun, compare \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/lomandra-and-grasses\"\u003elomandra and grasses\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/mat-rush\"\u003emat rush\u003c\/a\u003e, or \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/flax-lily\"\u003eflax lily\u003c\/a\u003e for a taller understorey with berries. The wider \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/low-maintenance\"\u003elow maintenance\u003c\/a\u003e range covers the rest of the garden on the same terms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvery order ships farm-direct with flat $99 delivery across QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, ACT and WA, a $399 minimum order, and the 30-Day Healthy Plant Guarantee.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"liriope-muscari-isabella","title":"Lilyturf - Liriope muscari ISABELLA®","description":"\u003cp\u003eUnlike the mondo grasses it is constantly confused with, Liriope muscari is a true clumper. It stays where you plant it, thickens slowly from the centre and never runs the way Liriope spicata does, which makes it a safer choice for edging beside lawn or paving. ISABELLA is a selection of that species, so expect the familiar arching strap foliage in a dense evergreen tuft, with stiff spikes of small beaded purple flowers pushed up through the leaves in late summer and autumn, often followed by dark berries.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is one of the few genuinely reliable things for dry shade under established trees, and it copes with root competition better than most border perennials. Give it a hard shear right down to a few centimetres in late winter, before the new leaves move, and it comes back clean; leave it and old brown tips accumulate through the clump. Slugs and snails will chew soft new growth in shaded courtyards. Plants ship in 130mm, 140mm and 200mm.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 3 sizes, from 130mm up to 200mm, priced from $16.95 to $29.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"200mm","offer_id":64309116666225,"sku":null,"price":29.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64309116698993,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"130mm","offer_id":64311680270705,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/c7pgF074899_1k7cZUPwk_596M1CDn.jpg?v=1787628475"},{"product_id":"ophiopogon-black-dragon","title":"Mondo Grass - Ophiopogon Black Dragon","description":"\u003cp\u003eAgainst pale gravel, limestone paving or a silver foliage planting, the near black leaves of Black Dragon do something no other hardy strappy plant manages. It is not a grass at all, despite the mondo name, but a slowly stoloniferous member of the lily group, forming short tufts of curved blades dark enough to read as black in most light, with small pale lilac flowers and glossy dark berries following.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo practical points. It is genuinely slow, much slower than green mondo, so plant closer together than feels sensible or you will be staring at bare soil for a long time. And the colour depends on light: in deep shade it drifts to a dull dark green, while in fierce inland sun the tips burn. Morning sun with afternoon protection gives the strongest black.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUse it as edging, in gravel gardens, between stepping stones, or spilling from a shallow bowl. Keep fallen leaf litter off the crowns.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 140mm, at $17.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64309247181169,"sku":null,"price":17.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/VOYupOYpKQzqWfv-wA3cu_Ki3qQjI2.jpg?v=1787628610"},{"product_id":"ophiopogon-japonicus-nanus","title":"Mondo Grass - Ophiopogon japonicus nanus","description":"\u003cp\u003eYou will need more plants than you think. Dwarf mondo forms very short, dense tufts of dark green blades and knits into a low mat, but it does so slowly, which means wide spacing leaves open ground for weeds through the first year or two. Plant it tight, mulch finely between the tufts, and stay on top of weeding while it closes over.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnce knitted it becomes one of the most useful problem solvers going: dry shade under established trees, strips between pavers, a crisp edge along a path, a mowing free green surface in a courtyard, or the flat plane beneath raised steppers. It handles light foot traffic, though nothing like what a lawn takes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt will grow in deep shade where turf gives up, and in sun provided it is not left to dry out badly. If a patch looks tired at the end of winter, run a mower over it on the highest setting and it will push fresh growth from the base.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 2 sizes, from 140mm up to 170mm, priced from $16.95 to $21.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64309247803761,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"170mm","offer_id":64309247836529,"sku":null,"price":21.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/RRhyYd8aSIJg4jYwKRDx5_2BgY1YRY.jpg?v=1787628610"},{"product_id":"ophiopogon-stripey-white","title":"Mondo Grass - Ophiopogon Stripey White","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhy choose a striped mondo over the plain green? Because in a shaded bed dark foliage disappears and cream striping does not. Stripey White carries fine strappy leaves marked lengthways in white and cream, so a planted drift reads as a soft pale line along a path edge or under a tree canopy, where a green groundcover would look like more shadow.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere are trade offs. Variegated forms carry less chlorophyll, which makes them slower to fill than the green types and more likely to scorch in hot afternoon sun, so give this one bright shade or morning light only. Watch for tufts that revert to solid green and pull them out, because they grow faster and will gradually swamp the striped ones.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKeep the soil from drying out completely, divide congested clumps in spring, and clear fallen leaves off the planting, since matted litter sitting on the crowns causes rot. It also works well as a container edge.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 2 sizes, from 140mm up to 170mm, priced from $16.95 to $21.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64309248065905,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"170mm","offer_id":64309248098673,"sku":null,"price":21.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/iVn4tFz9oa-Wfg9gmuCQr_DSHSPFjL.jpg?v=1787628610"},{"product_id":"ophiopogon-planiscapus-nigrescens","title":"Mondo Grass - Ophiopogon planiscapus Nigrescens","description":"\u003cp\u003eBlack mondo is a clumping perennial from Japan whose strap leaves emerge green and darken to a deep purple black, about as close to true black as garden foliage gets. Short spikes of pale lilac flowers sit low inside the clump in summer and are followed by glossy black berries. It is an accent plant rather than a groundcover, used in small drifts, as edging along a path of pale gravel, or in a shallow pot where the colour is close enough to register properly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSoil and setting for black mondo\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive it soil improved with compost that still drains freely, and keep it out of ground that stays wet through winter. It grows well in temperate and cool gardens, holds colour through the cold months and takes frost. Setting matters more than soil here. Near black foliage vanishes against dark mulch, brown bark chip and charcoal pavers, while against pale gravel, sandstone, silver leaved plants or a light coloured pot it becomes the thing you look at. Plant it in tight groups rather than dotting single plants through a bed. It also works on its own in a shallow pot, where the crown can be kept out of winter wet and the foliage sits at a height you actually look at.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe failure mode is asking it to cover an area. It spreads by short runners and it is slow, so a large bed planted at wide spacing stays a grid of separate clumps for years with weeds in every gap between them. Buy fewer plants for a smaller, denser area and let it fill properly, or use green mondo for the broad work and keep the black for accent.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBlack mondo as accent, not carpet\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/ophiopogon-japonicus\"\u003eGreen mondo\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"\/products\/ophiopogon-japonicus-nana\"\u003edwarf mondo\u003c\/a\u003e are the coverage plants in this range, quicker to close over and supplied in strips and packs for large areas. Black mondo is the opposite kind of purchase, bought by the handful for effect. A useful combination is a green mondo carpet with black drifts read against it, provided the two are massed separately rather than mixed plant by plant. If the job is a hard wearing edge in an open sunny position rather than a shaded carpet, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/lomandra-longifolia-dalliance\"\u003eDalliance mat rush\u003c\/a\u003e is a tougher answer than any of the mondos. Black mondo is the accent within a scheme, never the field it sits in.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eDividing and tidying black mondo\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere is no annual prune. Pull or snip individual leaves once they brown off, since shearing the whole clump leaves flat cut ends on every blade and they stay visible for months on a plant this dark. Feed in early spring with a general fertiliser and mulch lightly around the crowns rather than over them. Division is how you build numbers without buying more stock: lift a clump in spring, pull it apart into small fans with roots attached, replant immediately at close spacing and water in. The black berries can be left on the clump or snipped off with the spent flower stems.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 3 sizes, from 75mm up to 140mm, priced from $16.95 to $16.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"125mm","offer_id":64311397319025,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"75mm","offer_id":64311397351793,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311397384561,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/plantdrop-black-mondo-grass-ophiopogon-planiscapus-nigrescens-01_179122e7-00f1-4d07-9bd4-24d372f679ae.jpg?v=1785551727"},{"product_id":"liriope-muscari-emerald-cascade","title":"Lilyturf - Liriope muscari Emerald Cascade","description":"\u003cp\u003eEmerald Cascade is a Liriope muscari selection chosen for how its leaves behave. Instead of standing stiff and upright, the broad dark green straps arch out and fold over, so a row of it reads as one soft continuous edge, not a line of separate tufts. Spikes of small purple flowers push up above the foliage in the warmer months, followed by dark berries. It is planted as a border along paths and driveways, as mass planting under trees, and through dry shade where little else holds its shape.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eA clumper, not a runner\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe most useful thing about it is what it does not do. Emerald Cascade clumps and stays put, unlike Liriope spicata, which runs on underground stems and pushes into neighbouring beds and lawn, so an edge planted with this one stays where it was drawn for years. It tolerates root competition under established trees, gets by on low to moderate water once established, and is frost hardy through temperate districts. Soil can be ordinary provided it is not permanently wet. The failure mode is heat and reflection. Planted tight against a hot brick wall, a paved edge or a metal fence, the leaf tips brown off and the arching habit reads as scorched rather than soft, and because these leaves are long-lived that damage sits there until the next cut back. Give it some relief from reflected heat. Plant at roughly five per square metre for mass planting, or about 30 cm apart along a border for a continuous edge inside a season or two. It is not mondo grass, which is finer, lower and much slower, and the two are often shelved side by side; the liriope will fill the same bed in a fraction of the time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eCascading edge or upright line\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/liriope-muscari-evergreen-giant\"\u003eEvergreen Giant\u003c\/a\u003e is the same species selected for the opposite habit, taller and stiffly upright, holding a defined line rather than spilling over one. Use Evergreen Giant where you want bulk and a formal edge, and Emerald Cascade where you want the border to soften over a path edge or a low wall. For the deeper, drier shade under a dense canopy, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/aspidistra-elatior\"\u003ecast iron plant\u003c\/a\u003e takes conditions that will thin a liriope out, though it covers ground far more slowly. Neither liriope runs, so an edge of either can sit against a lawn without a root barrier, which is the practical reason both get specified ahead of Liriope spicata. Both sit in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/liriope\"\u003eliriope\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eOne shear, before the new leaves move\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eShear the whole planting hard back in late winter, before new leaves start to move, and take it low. Cutting after growth has begun leaves blunt, trimmed tips on the new leaves that stay visible for the rest of the year. A mower on its highest setting does the job on a large planting. Follow the cut with a balanced fertiliser and water it in to push even regrowth. Divide congested clumps in spring every few years if the centres thin out. Snails and slugs will chew the flower spikes as they emerge, particularly through a wet spring.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 2 sizes, from 140mm up to 200mm, priced from $17.95 to $29.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"200mm","offer_id":64311430971761,"sku":null,"price":29.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311431004529,"sku":null,"price":17.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/pd17-091-emerald-cascade-lilyturf-liriope-muscari-e_13d9f4e0-529b-4e8e-a165-a7212bfe39e8.png?v=1785551801"},{"product_id":"liriope-just-right-pbr-lirj","title":"Lily Turf - Liriope Just Right PBR 'LIRJ'","description":"\u003cp\u003eAsk a landscaper what goes under a row of advanced trees or along a shaded path edge and liriope comes up quickly. Just Right is a named Liriope muscari selection, so it grows as a clump rather than running through a bed, forming a tidy fountain of dark green strappy leaves with spikes of small purple flowers pushing up through the foliage in the warmer months.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt handles deep shade, root competition and part sun, and it is one of the few mass planting options that still looks respectable under a dry, greedy canopy. Space plants so the clumps knit together within a season or two.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaintenance is one job a year: shear or mow the whole planting back in late winter before new growth moves, then feed and water it away. Skip that and brown leaf tips stay in the clumps all year. Slugs and snails chew the flower spikes. Do not confuse liriope with mondo grass, which is finer and lower. Delivery is flat $99 to QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, ACT and WA.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 170mm, at $24.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"170mm","offer_id":64311453778289,"sku":null,"price":24.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/6MzJKbdMr7_DYA--1UWrF_Ml3EvzCA.jpg?v=1787629643"},{"product_id":"ophiopogon-japonicus-nana","title":"Mondo Grass - Ophiopogon japonicus Nana","description":"\u003cp\u003eDwarf mondo is the flat, fine textured form of Ophiopogon japonicus, sitting far lower than the standard plant and spreading slowly on short underground runners. The distinctive part is its evenness. The blades are so short and so densely packed that a knitted planting reads as a solid dark green surface rather than a collection of clumps. It exists for joints and edges: the gaps between pavers, stepping stone paths, narrow strips beside a path, and fine carpets under a feature tree.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBedding dwarf mondo between pavers\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet the levels before you plant. Dwarf mondo goes in slightly below the paver surface so it grows up into the joint instead of sitting proud and being scuffed off, and it needs real soil down in that joint, not compacted road base with a scrape of sand over it. Dig the joints out, refill with a free draining mix that holds some organic matter, and set the plugs close together. Keep them damp daily for the first fortnight while roots take hold, then taper off. It grows across most Australian climates, stays evergreen through winter, and thins in ground that stays waterlogged. Coarse sand or grit through the joint mix helps it hold together when the pavers get hosed down.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe failure mode is foot traffic. Dwarf mondo takes the occasional step, which is why it survives in a stepping stone path where feet land on the stone. Put it under a route people actually walk, a side gate run or a shortcut across a courtyard, and a bare compacted line appears within a season and never fills back in. Work out the walking line first, then plant either side of it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eNana against standard green mondo\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe two are easy to confuse in a pot and very different in a bed. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/ophiopogon-japonicus\"\u003eStandard green mondo\u003c\/a\u003e is taller, coarser and quicker to cover ground, so it is the practical choice for whole beds and shaded understorey. Nana is what you want when the planting is a surface rather than a mass: paver joints, tight edging, a fine even carpet where the taller form would look shaggy. It is slower again, so the wait is longer. If you are not sure which of the two you have bought, look at the foliage against the pot rim, since nana barely clears it. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/ophiopogon-planiscapus-nigrescens\"\u003eBlack mondo\u003c\/a\u003e is for contrast rather than coverage. Other strappy options sit in the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/liriope\"\u003eliriope and mondo range\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eTrimming and topping up dwarf mondo\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRegular pruning is not part of the job. Where winter has browned the tips, or a planting has lifted unevenly, shear it low in early spring before new growth starts and pick the clippings out of the joints by hand so they do not sit and rot down in there. Feed lightly in spring with a slow release fertiliser and water it in. The most useful maintenance is division: lift a congested clump in spring, tease it apart into single plugs and use those to close gaps elsewhere in the same planting.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 8 sizes, from 70mm up to 10 Pack, priced from $16.95 to $229.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. The smaller pots hold younger plants that cost less each and establish quickly, which suits hedges, screens and mass planting where the plant count adds up. The larger sizes carry several more years of growth on the farm and give height and presence straight away, which is what you want for a single feature position or a screen that cannot wait. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"75mm","offer_id":64311463149937,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"70mm","offer_id":64311463182705,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"125mm","offer_id":64311463215473,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"100mm","offer_id":64311463248241,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311463281009,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"80mm","offer_id":64311463313777,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 Pack","offer_id":64311463346545,"sku":null,"price":34.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"800mm Strips","offer_id":64311463379313,"sku":null,"price":229.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/plantdrop-dwarf-mondo-grass-ophiopogon-japonicus-nana_542a0adb-d633-4ceb-b2d6-9fecd1a08e78.png?v=1785551911"},{"product_id":"liriope-muscari-evergreen-giant","title":"Lilyturf - Liriope muscari Evergreen Giant","description":"\u003cp\u003eEvergreen Giant is the largest of the commonly grown lilyturfs, with broad, stiff strap leaves that stand upright instead of flopping and lilac-purple flower spikes held clear above the foliage through the warmer months. It clumps rather than runs. Where mondo grass is too short and too slow for the area being covered, this is the usual step up: mass planting under established trees, a taller border along a path or driveway, and the dry shade beds where root competition defeats most other things.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eRoot competition and the ground under trees\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is the liriope to reach for when the ground is full of tree roots. It takes that competition, keeps its colour through it, and gets by on low to moderate water once established, which matters because you cannot irrigate under a mature tree without feeding the tree instead. Soil can be poor, though it should not stay wet. It is frost hardy through temperate districts and fills in steadily rather than quickly, so give a mass planting one full season before judging it. Plant at roughly four to five per square metre, setting each crown level with the soil surface, since divisions buried too deep are a common cause of a slow, patchy start across a big planting. The failure mode is a maintenance one and it is entirely avoidable: skip the annual cut for a few seasons and the crowns brown out through the middle, leaving a mass of dead leaf with green fringes that one cut will not restore. Because the leaves stand upright and hold for a long time, tired foliage shows on this cultivar far more than it does on an arching form.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eGiant, cascading, or a native tussock\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/liriope-muscari-emerald-cascade\"\u003eEmerald Cascade\u003c\/a\u003e is the arching selection of the same species and reads as a soft continuous edge, where Evergreen Giant stands up and holds a line, so choose by whether you want the border to spill or to define. Evergreen Giant also carries more bulk, which is why it gets used to fill space under trees rather than to trim a path. If the brief is native planting in an open position, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/lomandra-confertifolia-little-pal\"\u003eLittle Pal\u003c\/a\u003e mat rush is the finer-textured alternative, though it is a plant for open ground rather than the shaded beds this one is grown for. Where a bed takes both liriopes, run Evergreen Giant through the back of it and Emerald Cascade along the front, because the difference in scale between them is real. Both are in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/liriope\"\u003eliriope\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe late winter haircut\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaintenance is one job a year. Cut or mow the entire planting back low in late winter, before new growth pushes, and clear the clippings out of the crowns. Timing is the whole trick, because cutting too late leaves every new leaf carrying a blunt trimmed tip until the following winter. Feed after cutting back with a balanced or slow-release fertiliser and water it in, which brings the new flush through evenly across a large planting. Lift and divide congested clumps in spring where the centres have gone woody, replanting the vigorous outer pieces and discarding the middle.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 4 sizes, from 125mm up to 200mm, priced from $16.95 to $29.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"125mm","offer_id":64311470522737,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311470555505,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"175mm","offer_id":64311470588273,"sku":null,"price":22.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200mm","offer_id":64311470621041,"sku":null,"price":29.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/pd17-100-evergreen-giant-liriope-liriope-muscari-ev_e505229e-1a1e-43d1-861d-871663cab175.png?v=1785551936"},{"product_id":"ophiopogon-japonicus","title":"Mondo Grass - Ophiopogon japonicus","description":"\u003cp\u003eGreen mondo is a tufted evergreen perennial rather than a true grass, spreading on short underground runners into a dense carpet of fine dark blades that arch over at the tip. Its quiet trademark is the flowering habit: small pale bells sit down inside the foliage rather than above it, which is the quickest way to separate mondo from liriope on a nursery bench. It is the standard mass planting for dry shade under established trees, along path edges, and in beds where a mower cannot go.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eGround conditions for a mondo carpet\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMondo is grown across most of the country, from cool temperate gardens through to the subtropics, and it holds its colour through winter in all of them. It is not fussy about soil type provided the ground drains, and it does well in the dry, root filled soil under mature trees where lawn gives up. Dig compost through the bed before planting, because a bed prepared once is a bed you never have to fix, and plant close together, since tight spacing is the only real lever you have on how fast the carpet closes. Water through the first two summers while the runners spread out.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe failure mode is weed invasion during establishment. Mondo takes seasons rather than weeks to knit together, and couch or kikuyu creeping in from a lawn edge will thread itself through the crowns while you wait. Pulling running grass out of established mondo by hand is slow, miserable work and it usually ends in lifting the lot. Kill the grass off before you plant, install a hard edge, and weed the gaps every few weeks until the foliage meets.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eGreen mondo against the other two mondos\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/ophiopogon-japonicus-nana\"\u003eDwarf mondo\u003c\/a\u003e is the same species held much lower and flatter, and it is the one for paver joints and stepping stone gaps. Standard green mondo makes a taller ankle high tuft with more presence, covers ground faster and is the sensible pick for whole beds. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/ophiopogon-planiscapus-nigrescens\"\u003eBlack mondo\u003c\/a\u003e is a different species entirely, near black in the leaf, slower again, and used in small deliberate drifts as contrast. If the ground you are covering is shaded and you are weighing up a broad leaf option instead, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/philodendron-xanadu\"\u003eXanadu\u003c\/a\u003e fills the same brief at knee height in frost free gardens. Mondo is the frost hardy one of that pair, which settles it in most southern gardens.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eKeeping a mondo planting even\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMondo needs no regular pruning. If a planting looks tired after several years, or winter has browned the tips, run a mower over it on the highest setting or shear it in early spring before new growth pushes, then rake the clippings off. Do that once when it is needed, not as an annual ritual. Feed in spring with a general fertiliser and again in autumn where the plants sit under hungry tree roots, and top the mulch up between clumps while gaps remain. Lift and split congested clumps in spring to fill bare patches rather than buying more plants.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 8 sizes, from 70mm up to 10 Pack, priced from $16.95 to $229.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. The smaller pots hold younger plants that cost less each and establish quickly, which suits hedges, screens and mass planting where the plant count adds up. The larger sizes carry several more years of growth on the farm and give height and presence straight away, which is what you want for a single feature position or a screen that cannot wait. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"10 Pack","offer_id":64311474258289,"sku":null,"price":46.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"75mm","offer_id":64311474291057,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"125mm","offer_id":64311474323825,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"170mm","offer_id":64311474356593,"sku":null,"price":21.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"800mm Strips","offer_id":64311474389361,"sku":null,"price":229.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311474422129,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"100mm","offer_id":64311474454897,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"70mm","offer_id":64311474487665,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/pd17-211-mondo-grass-ophiopogon-japonicus_f3997a2d-078a-4be5-9b57-08e8bca06b57.png?v=1785551948"},{"product_id":"liriope-muscari-just-right","title":"Lilyturf - Liriope muscari JUST RIGHT®","description":"\u003cp\u003eLandscapers buy liriope by the trolley load for the jobs nothing else survives: strips under street trees, shaded car park islands, the dry root-filled ground beside an established hedge. JUST RIGHT is a muscari selection bred to sit in the middle of the size range, neither a low edging dwarf nor a big coarse clump, which makes it easy to mass without the planting looking lumpy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt clumps rather than runs, so it stays where you put it and will not creep into the beds either side. The foliage is evergreen and strappy, and short spikes of small purple flowers push up above it in the warmer months, followed by dark berries.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe one piece of annual maintenance that matters is timing. Shear the whole planting back hard in late winter, before new shoots emerge. Leave it too late and you spend the next six months looking at blunt, cut leaf tips.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 140mm, at $16.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311485727089,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/aHE5oNZozEmg6t-1DQl3G_24P8AVOC.jpg?v=1787629863"},{"product_id":"liriope-evergreen-giant","title":"Lily Turf - Liriope Evergreen Giant","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe name is accurate for once. Evergreen Giant carries broad, stiff, dark green straps well above the height of an ordinary lilyturf, building a substantial clump that reads as structure in a bed rather than as groundcover. Pale lilac to white flower spikes come through the warmer months.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIts real value is in difficult ground. It copes with dry shade, root competition under established trees and the sort of embankment nobody wants to maintain, staying green through all of it, and it clumps rather than running.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAllow a season or two for it to knit together, because it is not quick to fill from small pots, and plant closer than feels necessary if you want cover sooner. In hot, exposed, dry positions the leaf tips brown off; a hard shear in late winter resets the whole planting. People regularly mistake it for lomandra, which is an Australian native with a finer leaf and a completely different flower.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 2 sizes, from 140mm up to 170mm, priced from $17.95 to $23.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311486447985,"sku":null,"price":17.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"170mm","offer_id":64311486480753,"sku":null,"price":23.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/FlbPcStj1CDI6-PgELZY1_Cvl5fC1U.jpg?v=1787629930"},{"product_id":"liriope-emerald-cascade-pbr","title":"Lilyturf - Liriope Emerald Cascade PBR","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhich liriope do you actually want, the stiff upright sort or something that spills? Emerald Cascade is the second kind. Its leaves are broader and softer than common lily turf and arch strongly outwards, so the clump falls rather than stands. That habit makes it a good choice for the top of a retaining wall, a raised planter, or a pot where foliage can hang over the rim. It is evergreen, with mauve flower spikes appearing among the leaves in the warmer months.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt clumps steadily outward rather than running, so it holds its position in a mixed bed instead of colonising it. Once settled it handles dry shade under established trees, and in cooler areas it will take sun provided it is not left bone dry through summer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo maintenance notes. Comb or shear out tired foliage in late winter before new growth starts, and keep an eye out for snails, which chew the soft new leaves badly in spring.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 2 sizes, from 140mm up to 170mm, priced from $16.95 to $23.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"170mm","offer_id":64311494377841,"sku":null,"price":23.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311494410609,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/AugIJf1QHsTrtteZ5LVEW_KTBlfOje.jpg?v=1787629996"},{"product_id":"liriope-muscari","title":"Lilyturf - Liriope muscari","description":"\u003cp\u003eAsk any landscaper what goes under a row of established trees where grass has given up, and lilyturf will be near the top of the list. It is not a grass but a clumping evergreen perennial, with strappy arching dark green leaves and thickened roots that handle root competition and dry shade better than almost anything else at this scale.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnlike Liriope spicata, which runs, muscari stays put as a discrete clump, so mass plantings stay tidy and edges hold their line. Through late summer and autumn it sends up stiff spikes of small violet flowers level with or above the foliage, followed by dark berries.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeople confuse it constantly with mondo grass. Mondo is finer, darker and lower, with its flowers buried in the leaves; liriope is broader and coarser and shows its flowers off.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnce a year, in late winter before new growth starts, shear the tired old leaves back hard. Available in 140mm and 200mm.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 2 sizes, from 140mm up to 200mm, priced from $16.95 to $29.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311502668145,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200mm","offer_id":64311502700913,"sku":null,"price":29.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/QCSDDj-aP4ZaRNQME0ra9_0iswEJE9.jpg?v=1787630136"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/collections\/pd17-211-mondo-grass-ophiopogon-japonicus_f3997a2d-078a-4be5-9b57-08e8bca06b57.png?v=1787349849","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/collections\/liriope.oembed","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}