I need to get a hardy groundcover for a steep slope in my back yard. This area gets mainly shade in the summer, due to large trees, and sun in the winter. The soil in our area is horrible. It's not even red clay. It's more like red rock, and the water tends to run off due to the slope.
Grass doesn't grow well in this area, but some weeds pop up. Some spots are very barren. Any ideas?
You may need to construct planting pockets with some rocks to get things started. Terracing it would help, but would be a larger project. Vinca might work.
i don't know about your zone, but in my area, pachysandra is used everywhere for exactly your description. we're trying the same to hold back erosion on a shady bank in our back yard.
also other shady groundcovers that i just put in (b/c i'm bored with pachysandra) are sweet woodruff (white flowers late spring, very pretty), dead nettle, vinca, and sedum (some varieties grow in anything sun shade rock crevices)..
A gardening book suggested euphorbia sp. robbaie (Robb's spurge), which it describes as "a real thug of a plant," for spaces where nothing else will survive. I bought some for a dark corner--haven't planted it yet, but it's very pretty. You might put some in and see what happens--but if it shows up at your door demanding money, don't blame me!
