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Wed, Jun 22, 05 at 10:11
| OK--18 years ago, I ripped out the deep green hostas (the old reliables), most of the lily of the valley and wild autumn asters--from this steep bank in my backyard. The
canopy is three layers deep-top with 80 foot big oak trees, then some smaller maple seedlings, then rhododendron and azalea combinations. Now, the hill--which is mostly dry dirt has been slowly eroding and I need to plant some stuff which will hold it inplace. Should I go back to the old reliable hostas, etc.? Should I find some kind of netting which I can anchor down to prevent the dirt from washing away? Any advice here would be muchly appreciated. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Have you checked out the Ajugas ?? Groundcover, very hardy and tolerant to a lot of things. |
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| In Pennsylvania, wild Mountain Laurel seems to do well in a situation like that. Maybe if you chose the right cultivated varieties, they would self-seed others and spread over the entire bank. It grows rather slowly, though. |
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| If erosion is a big problem, you might consider some jute mat to hold the slope while you get something growing. |
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| If the hostas didn't croak, I'd might use them again. I have a similar bank and planted pachysandra by using a bulb planter and adding humus to each planting hole in the spring while we still got rain. You use pieces with at least some root attached and wind them around your hand before sticking in the hole. On our back bank, now that we're not poor grad students I covered the bank with a layer of compost and dug out a little hole and blended the soil that way. Another plant that does well in dry shade is lamium of different sorts. Ajuga doesn't do so well when dry. |
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- Posted by DesperationFalls z5 MA (My Page) on Tue, Jun 28, 05 at 14:11
| Yup--the problem is that the opposing bank is covered with pachysandra which is now getting totally out of control and going every where. I've just put back all of the oldtimer hostas--I KNOW they will work. Thanks for the ideas of the jute mat for the erosion. Farther up the yard, I had planted some epimedium about 10 years ago and then forgot about them--they are flourishing. So, yes, there are possibilities. I've transplanted about 5 Japanese painted fern and two maidenhair fern which just thrive elsewhere around the yard-so I might have some luck with these as well. Thanks much for all the ideas! (We do have mountain |
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- Posted by susanlynne48 (My Page) on Sun, Jul 3, 05 at 19:03
| A really great plant for dry shade is epimedium, commonly referred to as 'Fairy Wings'. They come in so many foliage colors, flowers, etc. They look more delicate than they really are. Susan |
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| I had the same problem. I ended up planting Euonymous. The yellow-variegated foliage looks great from a distance and it does well in dry shade on my bank. My problem was that this was a very visible spot from my house, it is the bank of a stream that I really wanted to look good. The yellow Euonymous is interplanted with Vinca Minor. I also have a rhodo, Hosta Krossa Regal, and now some grasses have appeared. It looks great. I make pockets of improved soil when I plant, that helps a lot, especially with the vinca. |
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- Posted by sage_lover z6 OH (My Page) on Thu, Jul 28, 05 at 18:39
| aspringer, any chance you could post a picture of this? Sounds pretty nice. |
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