Plant Profile – ISABELLA Liriope muscari ‘LIRF’ PBR

Spreading ground cover Liriope

Compared to standard Liriope muscari, Isabella really stands out due to its very fine foliage and much denser, compact habit. Isabella is versatile, stylish, low maintenance and has the ability to be used as a functional ground cover.

In late summer early autumn Isabella has a distinctive display of showy pink flowers throughout the top of the foliage, making it great for ornamental gardens, mass plantings and rockeries.

Generally Isabella will stay evergreen all year round but throughout the cooler areas of Australia, it is a good idea to cut the plant back low to the ground in late winter. It will flush with clean new growth in early spring. Isabella is very tough, so cutting it very low will not hurt it. To prove how tough it is, Isabella can even be cut back once a year using a lawn mower on its highest setting or even using a brush cutter. Just avoid cutting back Isabella in the heat of summer or the dead cold of winter.

Isabella grows to about 40cm high, with a spread of 50cm. Given time, or planted close together, Isabella forms a dense ground cover, which is great for out competing weeds. If you are using Isabella as a groundcover and would like a quick coverage, plant it at 12-15 plants per square metre. Planted at this rate it will form a dense groundcover within 1 year of growth.

Isabella is drought and frost tolerant but will benefit from some added irrigation throughout extended dry periods. It can tolerate humidity in the tropical parts of Australia and can also tolerate occasional wet feet. It is suited to sunny or very shady positions in gardens, between office buildings or under shade trees. It will grow in all parts of Australia.

In a recent study, Isabella was found to be excellent for erosion control, strengthening the soil 5 times stronger compared to bare soil, which is far more than any other Liriope tested.

Click here for more information on Isabella
http://foliagefirst.bestplants.com.au/isabella.html