The Essentials of Groundcovers

All of us will get into this one at some point or another in our gardening experiences, but it still amazes me how many gardeners are resistant to adding them to their landscapes. I know I was! Now I can literally kick myself in the pants for not adding a few more to some of my garden areas until very recently; it would have certainly saved a lot of time and trouble in weeding and maintenance chores! So, this topic is all about groundcovers.

Mother Nature is the expert par excellence regarding groundcovers: Any bare patch of ground will be seeded in weeds, wildflowers, or grassy patches, as you all know. What we are doing when we add a groundcover is to intentionally put a desirable plant that will spread into an area before Ma Nature takes charge of things.

Grass is a classic example. It covers the ground and adds visual appeal to our homes as well as reduces the mud and dirt that one tracks into the house. It is functional and for the most part, attractive when maintained.

This brings up the question, "What exactly is an ideal groundcover? What should I look for?" Let's explore a wishlist for the ideal groundcover:

Now, I am sure I left out a point or two, but this pretty much covers what to me are the qualities to look for when choosing a groundcover.

Some settings that would do well with groundcovers would be on steep banks, shady areas where grass doesn't grow well, under shrubbery, under trees, and under very dry or very boggy locations. Of course, you can add a few groundcovers to existing perennial plantings: Johnny Jump-Ups, hostas, ferns, daylilies and many other plants often double as groundcovers.

When planting, consider the light, soil, and moisture requirements. Bright sunshine might not be the place to plant ferns, hostas or wild ginger. Ferns, for the most part, like moisture-retentive soil in semi-shade to full shade. On the other hand, Creeping Phlox does well in drier conditions in full sun and lean soil. Soil and moisture requirements go hand in hand. If you have an area with numerous shallow-rooted trees, establishing groundcovers will be a challenge. You might need to amend the soil by adding leaf mold, compost, manure, and peat or other organic material to about 3 inches or so. Be careful not to add too much over the surface feeder roots of trees! Believe it or not, a huge tree can be smothered by more than four or so inches of soil added over the feeder roots. One last note: With dry shade, amend the soil as described, and add plants that are compatible in a dry shade situation.

Be sure to plant according to recommendations. Mark a gridlike layout on the ground, and space the individual plants in the grid squares, or zig-zag fashion throughout the planting area at the recommended distances. This will help the plants to fill in properly. If planted too closely, the plants themselves will not become as full as they would if given the space that they need to develop properly.

That said, here is a table of various groundcovers and their uses:

There are many more groundcovers to consider such as ferns, hostas, and wintercreeper. The list is endless, and there is simply not enough room to give justice to all the posibilities. Just take care to do your homework before rushing out to buy plants for groundcovers. Invasiveness is a big consideration, and if you don't believe it, ask anyone who has grown Bishop's Weed (Aegopodium). We have to remember that much of what we are growing are non-native plants, away from their natural pests and diseases. These otherwise well-behaved plants might become garden thugs! But, don't let that scare you away. Just remember to be well-versed in what you want to grow and for the situation at hand, and you will do well with your groundcovers and will enjoy them for years to come!