How to Plant Liriope in Diagonal Rows

Pull weeds and pick up rocks from the planting site. Spread a 3- to 4-inch layer of compost over the ground with a rake. Mix the compost into the top 8 to 10 inches of the soil with a rototiller or garden fork. Rake the soil surface to smooth it.

Measure the diagonal length of the site. Cut a piece of twine to make it 5 inches longer than the site's diagonal length.

Tie one end of the twine to one stick or wooden dowel. Position the twine 1 to 2 inches below the stick's or dowel's top. Repeat this process to secure the twine's opposite end to a second stick or wooden dowel. Twist one of the sticks or dowels to wrap the twine around it, shortening the distance between the two sticks or dowels to span a corner of the planting site.

Place one potted lily turf plant in the bottom left corner of the planting site to mark its planting location. Measure a distance of 12 to 18 inches from the plant in a vertical and horizontal direction along the planting site's perimeter. Insert one stick or wooden dowel into each measurement point, unwinding the twine if needed to stretch it across the planting site in a diagonal line.

Measure the distance from the lily turf plant to the twine to ensure that it is 12 to 18 inches. Adjust the position of the sticks or dowels as needed to create that spacing. Draw a line in the soil underneath the suspended twine with a third stick or dowel to mark its position.

Measure 12 to 18 inches along the site's perimeter from the marked diagonal line. Insert the sticks or dowels into the corresponding points. Mark the ground underneath the twine as you did previously. Repeat this process across the entire planting site to mark diagonal lines spaced 12 to 18 inches apart.

Place potted lily turf plants along each diagonal line. Space the individual plants in a single line 12 to 18 inches apart. Alternate the plants in each subsequent row with the plants in the previous row to create a checkerboard pattern.

Remove the plant from the site's bottom left corner. Dig a hole in the cleared spot with a trowel. Make the hole twice as wide and equal in depth to the lily turf's root ball.

Slide the plant gently from its container. Massage the bottom of its root ball gently to spread the roots outward. Place the plant in the center of the hole. Add or remove soil if needed to ensure that the top of the root ball is level with the surrounding ground. Fill the remainder of the hole with soil, planting the lily turf no deeper than it grew in its pot. Repeat the digging and planting process with each lily turf plant, working across the planting site.

Apply 2 to 3 inches of water from a garden hose to the planting site. Water the lily turf plants again when the top 1 1/2 to 2 inches of soil becomes dry.