Asked on Jun 16, 2013
What's an effective way to get rid of liriope? My entire front yard
by
Louise
+30
used to be liriope, but dug it all up maybe 5 yrs ago. Planted shade grass which lasted 2 seasons. Then plowed up the yard again and now it's tree mulch with azaleas, hostas, ferns, hellebores and a couple more things. Liriope still comes up and I dig it up from time to time. BUT on the other side of the driveway in the front yard, I still have a jungle of liriope and have decided to eliminate all of it. I've started digging it up and giving it away on Freecycle, but realize digging is going to be more than I want to handle. Seems I read -- maybe on Hometalk -- recently that spraying it a couple of times within a 2-wk period with Roundup or something similar would do the job. Will it? Surely there's a way to eliminate it without digging. And besides, digging won't do unless every underground morsel of it is dug up -- nearly impossible!!!
You can see here where i've started digging up the stuff, but see behind the bare spot where it stretches back for maybe 15 more feet or more?
Here's another view of where I've dug up some, but it stretches several feet behind the forsythia.
MORE of the stuff. It stretches several more feet to the right and several feet behind the forsythia on the left of the photo.
If it's liriope spicata aka creeping lily turf, then digging it up will not work because those roots are networked to other liriope plants. I tried to dig up a 6x4 patch in my backyard about 12 or so years ago, and I dug down deep, about 18 inches, and used a screen sifting box I'd made over a wheel barrow to sift the dirt, plus I dug a full foot into my St Augustine just to make sure. After replacing the dirt and resodding the area I had those damnable things popping up all around the area I had dug up. Next I used regular Roundup, then Spectracide weed killer, then Ortho weed b gone, then finally Roundup Poison Ivy killer. Some would brown the liriope blades and others didn't do anything but kill the St Augustine. Problem is that regular Roundup only has 3% Glyphosate, and mixing it according to the instructions will not do jack to kill Liriope. Instead you have to mix the regular Roundup about 5 times the strength called for in the instructions, and that will get real expensive real fast. So finally I conceded defeat and did nothing more than mow it and not water it. A big stretch of this time since 2005 included a devastating drought here in Texas, so I said the hell with watering it. I believe during one of those summers with a multitude of 100+ degree days it didn't rain for more than 60 days, but the Liriope Spicata continued to live and grow and caused me to have to keep mowing during those hot months. Finally, a couple years ago I came across a Homo Depot product called HDX, which is a 41% Glyphosate product, sort of a generic Roundup on steroids. I first used it around mid February to spot spray danelions with the sprayer's round nozzle, and by the third week of March I started to notice these 10 to 12 inch round bare spots every where I had sprayed those dandelions, and by bare spots I mean no sign whatsoever of the Liriope. In fact, as I write this comment here in the middle of July those bare spots are still entirely free of Liriope, though there may be a clump of crab grass in a few of them. Anyway, that HDX kills this evil Liriope and sends them straight to hell. By the way, I later found out that this HDX herbicide is a generic of the commerical Roundup Pro (and/or Roundup Pro Max) because the Roundup patent finally expired, and which contains a slightly higher percentage of Glyphosate but also costs a great deal more. Nevertheless, if you're digging you're just wasting your time and effort. Spray it instead with a high percentage Glyphosate product, whether HDX, Roundup, Hi-Yield or others and be done with it. Yes, you'll have to re-sod, re-seed or re-hydromulch, but the important thing is this weed dead and done for.
how strong do you mix the HDX? per the label or stronger? Still add the soap too?
These chemicals sound effective and.are also reportedly carcinogens. Not. A great trade off. Still digging and covering with block plastic.
I post plants I no longer want on craigslist for free and ALWAYS have lots of takers in in East coast central Florida. People are thrilled to get free plants and root able cuttings as well. Many are "new" gardeners and I love giving them helpful advice when they come. Many come frequently and proudly share pictures of what they got before.
i tried the HDX glyphosate approach above with the high concentration HDX from Home Depot and it works! it takes about 6 weeks to work but it does work. It can be handled safely if you use the right PPE.
Hi Louise, hope this helps you.
If you want to get rid of monkey grass, the only way to control it is to use a product that contains glyphosate, the active ingredient in Round-Up. Be careful spraying Round-Up in your lawn as it is a non-selective herbicide and will kill both the Liriope and your desired grass.
The plant sends out runners all during the growing season. When you see them starting to grow out into the lawn or garden bed, remove the runners. But you have to stay on top of this or you won't get rid of the stuff. Good luck!
Call in a Garden Company who can help with Weed eradication!
My yard is overrun by liriope which was here when I bought the house. I want to get rid of it ALL and the suggestions above are helpful. However, as appealing as it is I don't think I'll offer it to others because it is invasive. Birds eat the seeds and distribute them which results in liriope choking out native plants. My advise to others is to NEVER plant this monster. It pops up everywhere because of the underground runners.