Choosing the Right Groundcover

How to Establish Groundcover

What to Plant

No matter what your situation, chances are good that a groundcover exists to fit the bill. Do some research and keep an eye out for successful plantings in your neighborhood. If you're still unsure what to plant, ask your cooperative extension agency or someone at your local nursery or landscaping company to recommend groundcovers for your area.

Some groundcovers are more aggressive than others, so be wary of invasive species and those prone to get quickly out of hand if not contained. Once established, groundcovers do not need to be mowed, although taller plants may require more maintenance (shearing every year) to maintain a tidy appearance.

For more information on different types of groundcovers (with images), visit the University of Illinois Extension's Directory of Groundcovers.

When to Plant It

Gardeners in cold-winter areas should plant groundcovers in the spring, so the plants have an entire growing season to establish roots. Gardeners in zones with hot, dry summers and mild winters should plant groundcovers in the fall, so the plants can take advantage of winter rains.

Preparing the Site

Start by killing and/or removing all existing grass and weeds. An easy way to do this is to cover the area with several layers of newspapers or a tarp held down with bricks for several weeks.

Remove rocks and other debris and rake the surface to even it out. Disturbing the soil may bring dormant weed seeds to the surface. At this point it's a good idea to water the site and wait a week or two to see if any weed seedlings germinate.

Amending the Soil

Groundcovers are no different than other garden plants. Most won't thrive in poor soil. After preparing the site, have your soil tested to determine pH and find out if it's lacking in any major nutrients.

Even the best quality soils benefit from the addition of organic matter. You will help condition the soil and improve drainage by spreading three to four inches of organic matter or well-composted manure over the top 6 to 8 inches of soil.

Setting Out the Plants

Spacing of plants depends on the plant's habit, rate of growth, cost and how fast the area needs to be covered. Closer spacing requires more plants (at a greater cost), but they will fill in more quickly. In general, faster growing groundcovers can be spaced further apart than slow growing types.

Plantings on steep slopes should be set in the ground in staggered rows. Create a ridge in front and a low spot in the back of each one to prevent erosion and catch water.

Water the plants thoroughly after planting, and every few days for the next few weeks when the top inch of soil feels dry. Plant should receive 1 inch of water each week.

Cover the soil between the young plants with mulch (bark, straw, or pine needles) to help maintain soil moisture and suppress weeds.

Routine Maintenance

• Water during dry periods.
• Promptly remove any weeds that appear.
• Refresh the mulch each year until the plants fill in and become established.

By Ellen Brown

Try Pachysandra for Ground Cover

My second suggestion is to be careful not to pick a ground cover that is too vigorous. You may end up with too much of a good thing. Think kudzu.

By Jack from Boston, MA

Choosing the Right Groundcover

Good Places for Groundcovers

Places that are hard to mow, in deep shade, or areas seldom seen are all good candidates for groundcovers. Here are some examples of where they are commonly used:

• Slopes and steep inclines
• Under trees or tall shrubs
• Narrow spaces between buildings or up next to the house
• Dry, wet, or difficult areas where nothing else wants to grow

Choosing Groundcovers

When you're looking for a good groundcover, let your landscaping needs to define your choices. Focus on the plants that will suit your garden best by assessing your needs:

• To get the best performance from a groundcover, you have to give it the growing conditions it needs. Is your site shaded or in full sun? Is it moist or dry? Look for plant choices that are well adapted to your site conditions-sun, shade, water, soil type, heat and hardiness. In general, plants that spread by runners or stolons (underground stems) will fill in areas more quickly than plants that form clumps.

• Do you want bold or fine texture? How important are flowers? When it comes to selecting a ground cover based on appearance, you should make leaf texture and color the highest priority. In most species (there are exceptions), the flowers are merely a short-term bonus. Instead of focusing on flower color, consider the overall characteristics and seasonal interest.

• Do you need something that is tall, or a low-growing species that hugs the ground? For example, ground covers and spring bulbs make great companions as long as the ground cover isn't so tall it overshadows them, or so short that it doesn't help camouflage dying leaves.

• Don't forget maintenance. Weed control is a must until your ground cover is fully established. Mowing tolerance is important, too, if you will routinely be mowing near the area. Depending on your situation, you may also need to consider foot traffic. Many groundcovers can be left alone once they become established. Others may need occasional or even annual shearing to keep them looking and performing their best.

Grounder Covers for Special Situations

Ground covers should be selected for their seasonal interest as well as for their use. They are often chosen to solve a particular problem and planted in a difficult spot where other plants will not grow. The following list is by no means exhaustive. In fact, anything that grows semi-quickly and covers a large area can be considered a groundcover. Some of the plants on this list can become invasive, so contact local nurseries or your local Cooperative Extension Service for a list of groundcovers recommended for your area.

Dry, Shady sites (areas under shade trees, under eaves, and on shaded slopes)

• Bugle-weed (Ajuga reptans)
• Common periwinkle (Vinca minor)
• English ivy (Hedera helix)
• Epimediums (Epimedium spp.)
• Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis)
• Lilyturfs (Lirirope spp.)
• Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei)

Sunny Sites (including slopes)

• Carpet Junipers* (Juniperus horizontalis)
• Cotoneaster* (Cotoneaster spp.)
• Creeping Thymes (Thymus serphllum)
• Crown Vetch* (Securigera varia)
• Day Lilies* (Hemerocallis spp.)
• English Ivy*(Hedera helix)
• Maiden Pinks (Dianthus deltoides)
• Mock Strawberry (Duschesnea indica)
• Perennial Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)
• Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei)
• Wooly Thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus)

Shade or Partial Shade

• Bugle-weed (Ajuga reptans)
• Ginger (Asarum canadense)
• Goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria)
• Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria majalis)
• Spotted Dead Nettle (Lamium maculatum)
• Stonecrop (Sedum spp.)

Wet Sites

• Astilbes (Astilbe spp.)
• Bunchberry (Cornus spp.)
• Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia)
• Forget-me-not (Myosotis spp.)
• Heather (Erica spp.)
• Hostas (Hosta spp.)
• Lady's mantle (Alchemilla mollis)
• Mint (Mentha spp.)
• Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)

*These plants tend to spread quickly, and have deep enough roots to really hold the soil.

By Ellen Brown

Be Sure You Have Adequate Drainage

Find out how your land lays, where water comes in, and where it puddles. Then start at the puddle areas and dig a long ditch (6 inches wide, 6 to 8 inches deep) from puddle straight to desired drain area.

Lay the cloth in the ditch lengthwise, centering it. Place river rock in fabric 2 inch deep, and fold cloth over rock, overlapping the fabric. Cover with dirt and pack down.

Now that your land drains, you can put any kind of dirt and a lot more kinds of plants. Some areas are sandy and high or hilly so it drains too much. This is a little more work but fixable also. At a mid low area on the high spot you will also dig a ditch a V into the side of the hill 4 inches deep.

In this ditch, place a three inch thick by 4 inch deep clay wall put dirt around it keeping it in the wall shape. Sometimes a rock on the down slope of the ditch helps hold the clay but costs more. This clay slows down the drainage and the plants have time to get water. Some people put a V on one side of the hill or high spot. The water will care for half the high ground and the rest is decorated with rock.

These gardening tips are a lot of hard work, but help most kinds of places, and is low cost.

By Carolyn from Chilliwack, BC