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tomandkaren_gw

groundcover

tomandkaren
12 years ago

We have a 2-acre property for a future house with a large flat area bordering on a neighbors lawn. It will be in full sun, pretty good soil, at the base of a steep slope, and I don't want to mow there. I need a ground cover that will spread pretty quickly but not encroach on his lawn. We have lots of vinca elsewhere on the property that I am transplanting onto the hill above this flat area to control erosion, and for the looks. We also have ivy at our current house that I could take and use on that area.

Any opinions would be welcome - more vinca, ivy, something better? Also, I have available lots of rocks I could use on the border to keep the cover from spreading onto his lawn.

Comments (2)

  • doriswk
    12 years ago

    Creeping Jenny(Lysimachia nummilaria) is a vigorously growing groundcover that has a golden yellow to light green color, depending on the amount of sun. In summer it produces pretty little yellow flowers. It grows very rapidly, and therefore is also very invasive! But trailers are easy to pull up and cut off.
    I planted only one 4 " planter in a sunny area that I wanted to be covered rather quickly, and this busy little creeper spread like wildfire, covering abt. 4 ft. by 4 ft in one season ( it would have spread more if I had let it). The following year I transplanted some of creeping jenny and some vinca under a tree where nothing wants to grow. Creeping jenny took over, except for a few branches of the vinca which had a hard time establishing itself and spread much slower. The yellowish green of creeping jenny may intermingle nicely with the darker ivy and vinca that you already have. I would probably plant vinca or ivy closer to the neighbours lot, and creeping jenny further away. But be warned, creeping jenny is a fast growing invasive plant!

  • tomandkaren
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks - Sounds like you have experience with these covers. I think the Jenny probably sounds too invasive - too much work to control what is a pretty large area. I have a large grass field above the steep slope, lots of vinca transplanted and just getting started on the slope itself, and nothing on the level area below the slope, which abuts the neighbor's lawn. If I introduce jenny into the lower flat area, I would worry about the jenny eventually taking over both the slope (which would actually be fine) and the field, as well as the neighbors lawn. I guess ideally on the lower flat area would be a fast-growing non-invasive weed-smothering plant, and I'm sure that is a contradiction in terms. The ivy at our current house seems to be pretty fast-growing, and it seems to stay off the lawn. In addition, it seems thick - keeps out weeds - so that it would require little or no attention. Would the jenny be good for erosion control on the slope? The vinca seems to be VERY thick and deep-rooted for that purpose.

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