Classic Ground Covers

Dianne Geli­nas

OSU Exten­sion Mas­ter Gar­dener Intern

Delaware County

Ground cov­ers can be defined as any veg­e­ta­tion that blan­kets the ground, from moss to pine for­est. For our pur­poses, it means low grow­ing plants in close prox­im­ity, used to cover areas that nor­mally would be planted in grass. Low grow­ing is a rel­a­tive term which might be any­thing up to 12 inches high. Many ground cov­ers could exceed this height, yet still look appro­pri­ate on a rolling terrain.

In addi­tion to height, ground cov­ers vary in color, main­te­nance level, habit and blooms. When choos­ing a ground cover, you need to con­sider one that is best suited for the site and con­di­tions. Ground cov­ers can be the per­fect solu­tion to a chal­leng­ing sit­u­a­tion in your yard, such as slop­ing ground, dry rocky ter­rain or areas where grass doesn’t grow well. They can be used as traf­fic bar­ri­ers or visual guides around plant­i­ngs. Ground cov­ers can help keep the ground from freez­ing and thaw­ing which can crack and dry roots, even­tu­ally killing the plant. All ground cov­ers can ben­e­fit from an annual fer­til­izer, but not much main­te­nance is nec­es­sary after that.

Some of the most pop­u­lar types of ground­cov­ers are as follows:

• Lan­tana (L. camara) has a trail­ing habit with aro­matic flower clus­ters that blooms from April through frost. These ground cov­ers are great for flowerbeds, con­tain­ers and used on a slop­ing bank for ero­sion con­trol. Lan­tana does best in full sun and grows 9 to 12 inches tall. It is not hardy in Zone 5, but can add a beau­ti­ful dis­play dur­ing the summer.

• Cin­na­mon ferns (Osmunda cin­namo­mea) are well suited at the edge of ponds and streams, or in moist bor­ders. Used as an accent, clumps of ferns can add a lush trop­i­cal look with a dra­matic effect to shady moist areas. Their fronds can grow 2 to 4 feet long and fade to yel­low in fall.

• Vinca (V. minor) also known as Peri­win­kle or myr­tle is one of the best ever­green ground cov­ers. It dis­plays a lush green car­pet of up to 6 inches in height with laven­der blue flow­ers in early spring.

• Creep­ing Lily Turf (Lirope spi­cata) forms mounds of grassy foliage and grows 6 to 12 inches tall. In the sum­mer the flower stalks bear light blue flow­ers, fol­lowed by black berries. Lirope spreads rapidly and is well suited for beds and borders.

• Sedum (S.album) or Stonecrop is one of the hardi­est and low­est main­te­nance ground­cov­ers avail­able. Their low grow­ing suc­cu­lent leaves grow 2 to 3 inches tall. They have thick suc­cu­lent green leaves and bear white flow­ers in late summer.

• Artemisia (A. schmid­tiana) makes tufted car­pets of fra­grant sil­very gray foliage that dies back in win­ter. The vari­ety ‘Sil­ver Mound’ is a dome shaped plant approx­i­mately 12 inches in height. Tiny yel­low flow­ers appear in late sum­mer or early fall. These plants are drought resis­tant and require very lit­tle care.

• Pachysan­dra (P.terminalis) or Japan­ese Spurge is one of the best and most widely grown ground cov­ers. It has clus­tered; saw-toothed leaves which grow 1 to 3 inches long. White flow­ers appear above the leaves in spring. Pachysan­dra will grow just about any­where, but looks best in beds and borders.

• Phlox (P. sub­u­lata) also known as Creep­ing Phlox grows well in rock gar­dens and bor­ders. They come in many shades includ­ing white, blue, laven­der, pink and magenta. This species grows 4 to 6 inches tall, and can spread 2 feet or more. They pre­fer a sunny site.

• Hed­era (H. helix) or Eng­lish Ivy is a vine that forms a green car­pet and often climbs a wall or a tree when planted at the base. The leaves gen­er­ally grow 2 to 4 inches long and can climb to great heights. It can thrive in full sun or some shade.

• Dianthus (D. del­toides) Maiden pinks have ever­green foliage that grows 2 to 4 inches high. Slen­der flower stalks grow to a height of 8 inches in late spring and are topped by a pink, white or red flower. Dianthus grows well in full sun.

Ground cov­ers, when main­tained prop­erly, pro­vide dense soil cover, retard weed growth and can help resist soil ero­sion. They range in height from 1 inch to 4 feet. They can be woody or herba­ceous, clump­ing or run­ning, ever­green or decid­u­ous. They come in a vari­ety of col­ors and tex­tures as well. Some­times they are the answer to prob­lem areas, while oth­ers can define a space or tran­si­tion between the lawn and taller plants. Ground cov­ers add inter­est and bring unity to the gar­den. Try some today.

Posted by Master Gardener on Oct 14 2011. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Comments can be made below.