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robarba

Groundcover

robarba
18 years ago

I have an area under low trees/tall shrubs that is shady. I like Vinca Minor (blue flower) but think English Ivy may be a better choice. Which do you think would grow better in such conditions? Any other groundcover suggestions? Thank you.

Comments (11)

  • Julie
    18 years ago

    I would have to go with Vinca- as Ivy isn't hardy here- Vinca is easier to remove should you change your mind, I am told. The pretty blue flowers are an added bonus as well!
    Julie

  • bean_counter_z4
    18 years ago

    Just something to think about. I have sweet woodruff as a ground cover. Pretty white flowers show up better in shade than blue. Spreads quickly, uniform height, not fussy about soil or moisture. Wild ginger is a nice groundcover too, like little hosta. Or you could put a patch of one here and another kind there.

  • joandaugh
    18 years ago

    I have some creeping phlox that grows very happily in a sunny spot. I don't know how it does in shade. I've just heard that it doesn't like to be too wet. I think it's kind of evergreen and then gets really green in the spring, with pretty lavendar flowers. Supposedly you can trim it with a weed wacker and it will rebloom. I'd be glad to share some as I think I'm moving mine to a smaller spot to make way for an herb garden. I'm just north of the city.

  • sheri
    18 years ago

    Also, consider mazus reptans. It's a tiny-leaved, low-growing growncover that blooms masses of purple flowers in the spring and sporatically all year.

  • katielovesdogs
    18 years ago

    Don't go with the ivy. It's terribly invasive and difficult to get rid of. I prefer sweet woodruff, lamium, and/or wintergreen. Maybe you could plant a couple of different groundcovers. Lamium spreads quickly but is easy to control.

  • klimkm
    18 years ago

    IT MAY BE TOO LATE BUT DO NOT PLANT IVY. it is terrible to get rid of and creeps everywhere. I vote for vinca.

  • grandblvd03
    18 years ago

    Triple the vote on NO ENGLISH IVY. You'll be pulling it out by the barrels.

  • wdheller
    18 years ago

    I have become a HUGE Sweet Woodruf fan. Planted some two years ago under a large Crimson Maple. It has filled in well, and is starting to inch beyond the bedline I established- my only complaint.

    Very nice texture, and looks great with Coral Bells.

    wdheller

  • Oswegian
    18 years ago

    We planted five "groundcover" forsythia shrubs, and they have done very well. The flowers in the spring are as bright and welcome as their bigger counterparts, and they have a dense, light-green foliage afterward. They seem to take drought and clay soil very well. I haven't watered them much, even with the drought.

  • mrmorton
    18 years ago

    I notice that no one has mentioned Liriope(Lilyturf). Works well in both sun and shade. Produces little blue flowers in August. Reaches a height of about 12". I would consider it a less formal groundcover, due to it's "grassy" appearance.
    I agree with those folks who recommended Sweet Woodruff. I've been meaning to work in a patch of it somewhere.

  • ptilda
    14 years ago

    I'm also amazed that no one has spoken of Hosta. The low varieties are often excellent as ground-covers because they fill in so quickly, but stay in a nice mound. Allen P. McConnell and Twist Of Lime are two adorable miniatures that I got for the first time about 2 years ago, and they have multiplied at a very healthy rate ever since!

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