Clumping Monkey Grass Gardens in Chinese Monkey Year Theme Gardening

Summary: Americanized Chinese monkey year theme gardening gives clumping monkey grass gardens edging, groundcover and understory roles to monkey flowers and trees.

Southern Living identifies liriopes as the South's favorite ground cover and Liriope muscari as the most popular; clumping monkey grass (Liriope muscari) 'Pee Dee Gold Ingot' in Cherry Grove, Suffolk County, Fire Island, southeastern New York; Sept. 7, 2012: cultivar413, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr

Americanized clumping monkey grass gardens attract attention to Americanized Chinese monkey year theme gardening plans for Jan. 27, 2016, to Feb. 8, 2017, by their common name and by their Oriental origins. They bear the common names big blue lilyturf, monkey grass and spider grass by comparison with related creeping monkey grass and by arachnid- and banana-like growth. The scientific name Liriope muscari convokes self-destructive Narcissus's mother, whose name concerns flowing springs, and grape hyacinth-like musk-flowers of the asparagus relative in the Asparagaceae family. The non-native perennial does well down to minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23.3 degrees Celsius) in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) zones 6 to 10.

The flowering grasslike evergreen expects moist, organic matter-rich, semi-shaded, well-drained soils even though the east Asian native endures humidity, light, moisture, soil, temperature and weather extremes.

Clumping monkey grass functions as an understory plant in shady forests at 330- to 4,600-foot (110.58- to 1,402.08-meter) altitudes in its native China, Japan and Korea. It grows as edging along paths, as foliage in container, rock or woodland gardens and as groundcover on erosion-prone, runoff-riddled slopes in the southeastern United States. The deer-resistant, tufted introduction has a mature habit of 1.0 to 1.5 feet (0.31 to 0.46 centimeter) by 0.75 to one foot (0.23 to 0.31 centimeter). The arching, clumping, one-half-inch- (1.27-centimeter-) wide, straplike foliage is brown in winter, dark glossy green from spring to fall and mowable before early spring's new growth.

Clumping monkey grass gardens jumble August- to September-blooming, blue-, lilac-, purple-, violet- and white-blooming, dainty, dense, showy, tiny flowers into Americanized Chinese monkey year theme gardening.

The clumping, taller relative of creeping monkey grass keeps its blackish berries into winter and its spikes of whorled flowers knowably above its longer, wider leaves.

Phenolic compounds lace fruit pulp and leave seed embryos underdeveloped and seed germination impossible since above-ground stolons and below-ground rhizomes let clumping monkey grass reproduce asexually. Fibrous roots with terminal tubers and horizontal, short stems called stolons and tubers respectively make new plants by human-guided division and by natural rooting at nodes. Division needs the dormant winter months before the next year's onset of early spring growth and always nurtures clumping monkey grass babies identical to their parents.

Americanized clumping monkey grass gardens offer onerous embryo maturation and seed production operations as alternative or overlapping reproduction options in Americanized Chinese monkey year theme gardening.

Warm stratification (horizontal layering) promotes embryo maturation and seed production that proves sowable indoors during winter dormancy or outdoors after the last frost or in mid-fall.

A second moist, warm stratification quickens indoor or outdoor-sheltered germination of phenolic compound-free seeds after eight weeks in darkness at 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius). Clumping monkey grass, described by Joseph Decaisne (March 7, 1807-Feb. 8, 1882) and Liberty Hyde Bailey (March 15, 1858-Dec. 25, 1954), result from all three means. Even cleaned-up, phenolic compound-free seeds never store well even though divided, rooted and seeded clumping monkey grass rarely suffers from environmental diseases, pathogens, pests or stress.

Clumping monkey grass gardens take on edging, groundcover and understory roles to candelabra trees, monkey flowers and monkey puzzle trees in Chinese monkey year theme gardening.

clumping monkey grass (Liriope muscari) in landscape with birches (Betula spp.) in Kew Gardens, southwest London, South East England; Oct. 20, 2013: Leonora (Ellie) Enking (wallygrom), CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Southern Living identifies liriopes as the South's favorite ground cover and Liriope muscari as the most popular; clumping monkey grass (Liriope muscari) 'Pee Dee Gold Ingot' in Cherry Grove, Suffolk County, Fire Island, southeastern New York; Sept. 7, 2012: cultivar413, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/131880272@N06/21532687873/

clumping monkey grass (Liriope muscari) in landscape with birches (Betula spp.) in Kew Gardens, southwest London, South East England; Oct. 20, 2013: Leonora (Ellie) Enking (wallygrom), CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/33037982@N04/10447279706/

For further information:

Bailey, Liberty Hyde. 15 February 1929. "Liriope muscari." Gentes Herbarum 1929-1932, vol. II: 35-37.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/inu.30000046319319?urlappend=%3Bseq=45

"Liriope muscari." Missouri Botanical Garden > Gardens & Gardening > Your Garden > Plant Finder.
Available @ http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=l100

"Liriope muscari (Decne.) L.H. Bailey Big Blue Lilyturf." United States Department of Agriculture > Natural Resources Conservation Service > Plant Profile.
Available @ https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=Limu6

Lynn, Audrey. "What Is the Difference between Lirope muscari and Liriope spicata?" SFGate > Home Guides > Garden > Gardening > Garden Ideas.
Available @ http://homeguides.sfgate.com/difference-between-liriope-muscari-liriope-spicata-42534.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 January 2016. "Square-Stemmed Monkey Flower Gardens for Monkey Year Theme Gardening." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/01/square-stemmed-monkey-flower-gardens.html

Owings, Allen. January 2012. "Getting the Most From Your Liriope Ground Cover." State-by-State Gardening > Midwest Edition > Newsletter Stories.
Available @ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/il/newsletter-stories/getting_the_most_from_your_liriope_ground_cover/

Reed, Rebecca Bull. March 2006. "Smart Choices With Monkey Grass." Southern Living > Home - Garden > Gardens.
Available @ http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/gardens/smart-choices-monkey-grass

Russ, Karen; and Russ Polomski. Revised by Joey Williamson. "Lirope." Clemson University > Cooperative Extension > Home and Garden Information Center > Landscape, Garden & Indoor Plants > Landscape Plants & Lawns > Groundcovers & Vines > HGIC 1108.
Available @ http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/landscape/groundcovers/hgic1108.html