eroding slope

16 years ago

My house was cut into a hill exposing a "spring" or wet area in the cut. The resulting slope is very steep. Probably in the 70 - 80 deg range. First winter, wet area sloughed off and large portion of hill collapsed. Builder and I were going to terrace, but contractor re-graded while we were not on site.

Builder then carefully planted grass, covered with straw, and staked fabric. This grew well until summer got too hot, held almost all winter, then shortly after new year the whole thing went again.

This spring, we are going to terrace in 3 - 4 steps. Each will be appx. 2' high and 6' - 8' deep. The barrier, for economical reasons, is artificial. It looks ok, but not stone or brick like rest of landscaping. I would like to find a plant that vines and produces roots like nobody's business in order to fill the terraces and drape over barrier.

In my opionion, it can't be too nasty or invasive. As long as it doesn't stink or isn't poisonous. :)

There are other portions of the slope that are out of play here, but I would still like to plant. These areas are rocky with a lot of slate and sandstone. While these areas have lost a few yards of sand over last two winters, they are hard enough to hold shape for many years. Still, anything green will look nice.

Any suggestions on such plants would be great.

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Comments (5)

bullthistle
16 years ago
You should probably look at invasive species to get the hill under control, but saying you must be able to protect species from growing out of bounds. Invasive will grow faster which is what I assume you want. Like periwinkle.

Here is a link that might be useful: Propagating Perennials
ikenlob
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks. Lots of reading! Terraces should be completed in a couple weeks then I will get started.
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busylizzy
15 years ago
I am using creeping phlox, with campanula and creeping thyme on the steep slope.
I don't like vines that are invasive, such a chore to rid when time to go. Bad enough i am tearing out old blue rug juniper, tough woody stems.
Also, you might want to look into Ribbon grass,I have seem banks with that and they look awesome, but be careful with that one, it will take over and tough to remove.
If course there is the standard for slopes, daylilies.
offplumb
15 years ago
I found this info very interesting -
(link below)

When searching, you may want to look for aggressive plants. My preference is for natives. If you do choose an "alien" please make sure it doesn't fall in the invasive category.
invasive plants aren't eco-friendly. The problems that these nasties cause will reach much farther than your land.

Invasive Species:

"An alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health."

good luck

Here is a link that might be useful: native plant root systems
DYH
15 years ago
If you have full sun and the right zone for it, try creeping rosemary (sometimes call cascading or groundcover).

If you want a groundcover that is very aggressive, St. John's Wort, hypericum calycinum will do it.

Another groundcover shrubby plant is cotoneaster. Some states consider it invasive (birds eat the berries and pass them along, so to speak).

Creeping thyme is another good one for full sun.

Creeping phlox (phlox subulata) is also great and colorful.

Clematis vines, though not evergreen, provide nice blooms.

If jasmine works in your area, that's another possibility. The foliage is evergreen here in NC.

You can tuck sedums into cracks and crevices of walls with little pockets of dirt.

Again, zone permitting, delosperma cooperii (ice plant) is another full sun possiblility. Evergreen here, loaded with sparkling flowers all summer (they close at night).

Here is a link that might be useful: my gardening blog