Best Bets: Plants Tried and True Native Plants for Particular Uses To Replace Invasive Plants in the Mid-Atlantic INVASIVE PLANT: Creeping Liriope (Liriope spicata) Liriope spicata is native to China and Vietnam and was introduced to the United States as an ornamental. One of the most frequently planted ground covers, this aggressively spreading perennial has appeared in scattered infestations throughout the Southeast and has been identified as an emerging threat to natural areas in the Mid-Atlantic Region. In Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia both L. spicata and L. muscari are considered invasive. Problems Creeping Liriope & Plantain-leaved Sedge Aggressive spreader in gardens, crowding out native and cultivated plants Infests abandoned home sites and woods adjacent to neighborhoods Creates monocultures and degrades natural habitats, displacing native plants and reducing support for wildlife Seeds spread by birds and mammals Runners travel under cement, making it difficult to contain Rhizomes spread through movement of soil Tolerates air pollution and drought and can grow in either sun or shade Difficult to eradicate Desired Characteristics Grass-like and/or evergreen ground cover Native Alternatives Carex flaccosperma (Meadow (Blue Wood) Sedge) Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania Sedge) Carex plantaginea (Plantain-leaved Sedge) Packera aurea (Golden Ragwort) Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas Fern) Salvia lyrata (Lyre-leaf Sage) developed by Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia, serving Arlington and Alexandria Images by Elaine Mills, Arlington, VA and U. S. National Arboretum Virginia Cooperative Extension programs and employment are open to all, regardless of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. An equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia State University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Edwin J. Jones, Director, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg; M. Ray McKinnie, Administrator, 1890 Extension Program, Virginia State, Petersburg..