What Groundcovers Can Do For You
Make A Dramatic Combination
How can I add groundcovers to my garden? The groundcover in the garden, photograph, above, is Liriope. It is a clumping, evergreen perennial with shiny dark green blades. It is hardy in zones 6-10. (Some gardeners have success with it in parts of zone 5) Here it is used to set off the flashy Starburst Clerodendrum. This shrub or tree is native to tropical climates and is hardy in zones 9b-11.
Its foliage appears burnished, dark green on top-like the liriope and adds deep purple on the underside. And then there are the blossoms! These two are a striking combination. You might have a similar combination to make with Liriope in your zone.
Benefits of Groundcovers
Sturdy groundcovers will fill an empty space, particularly those where turf is not successful. Properly selected and planted they should considerably lower your maintenance efforts and costs.
A well-chosen ground covering plant will do all this for you:
- Protect the soil
- Lower soil temperature in extreme heat
- Prevent erosion
- Keep you and the mower away from dangerous slopes
- Reduce weeds
- Cover the area under trees, too shady for turf
- Create an attractive border or edge
- Soften walkways and stepping stones
How to install a groundcover
Choose the Plants
How to do this? Start with plants you love and which look good in your area. Research them. Will they suit your location?
This is the principle of “Right Plant Right Place”
Think of this as the Goldilocks rule. Not too sunny-not too shady; just right. The point is that plants growing in a location that best suits their needs will perform their best with the least input from you.
They will be healthy plants with healthy root systems. Such plants will have the best chance to withstand the pests and diseases that will inevitably roll through your neighborhood. Putting a healthy new plant in its most suitable location is your very best opportunity to reduce the use of chemicals in the garden.
How to Evaluate your Garden
The General Environment
Start with your general environment. Is the area you live in hot, cold, humid, wet, windy? What are your average temperatures, summer, and winter? There are some environmental conditions you can’t change. You need to find plants that can live where you do.
Your Own Garden And It’s Microclimates
Next move on to your garden. What microclimates do you have? We all have them. A microclimate is a little spot that is not like the rest of the garden. Do you have a slope? Is the area on the top drier and that on the bottom wetter? That is your opportunity to enjoy two different kinds of plants.
In a Central Florida house; we successfully grew Azaleas and Camellias. We lived in a fringe location; a place that was a little too far south for them. The Azaleas were shaded and acidified by a grove of live oak trees. The Camellias were in our backyard’s highest point; slightly shaded and a little protected from our humidity. A few feet either way and these plants would not have worked, That’s a microclimate!
Your Light Conditions
Measure your sun. Full sun is 6+ hours of sun. Part sun is 4-6 hours of sun.
Prepare the Soil
Remove weeds and kill off any turfgrass. Dig and loosen the soil about 6″-12.” (This will depend on the root systems of the plantings. Add about 2′-4′ of organic matter and work it into the soil.
Plan your spacing. Use the best-recommended spacing for your plants. Line them up in a zig-zag fashion to maximize filling in the space. ( Some people have success using a cardboard triangle, cut to the size of your plant spacing. Place one plant at each point. This will even out your spaces.) I like to plant with a pair of old folding rulers, but I might try the triangle next time.
Make the holes two times the width of the pot and for smaller groundcovers, place the plants the depth of the pot. For larger plants check the directions on the pot.
Use the fertilizer recommended for your plant and water it in well.
Some Groundcover Choices
These are ranked by size, the first (or only) number is the height. Low growing groundcovers at the start. Then taller plants to follow. Each includes its basic features such as zones and light requirements so that you can quickly eliminate those that do not suit your needs. In cases in which a plant has a dwarf form and a taller form, the taller form directly follows the dwarf. This means that a low growing plant can have a taller variety. Be specific when purchasing plants!
Low Growing Groundcovers
Creeping Thyme
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil?Moisture | Reference |
| Careeping Thyme | 1″-3″ | 4-9 (some show 5-8) Check your local garden center | Sun -Light Shade | White, pink lavender flower . Leaves blue/gray | Well Drained | |
| Thymus praecox |
Mondo Grass
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Dwarf Mondo Grass “Nana’ | 3″ | 6-10 | Part Sun/Shade | Dark Green | Loose/Loamy Slight Acidic | https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/shrubs/OPHJAPA.PDF |
| Ophiopogon japonicus ‘Nana’ | Shade in 9-10 |
Creeping Juniper
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Creeping Juniper | 4″-6″ | 2-9 | Full Sun | green | WSomell Drained | |
| Juniperus horizontalis | Some varieties to 2′ | Medium Moisture |
Periwinkle
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Periwinkle Vinca Minor | 4″-6″ | 4-9 | Full/Sun-P/Sun-Shade | Bllue and Var others | Moist-Well drained | https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/periwinkle/ |
| Vinca Major | to 2′ | “ | “ | “ | “ |
Creeping Phlox
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Creeping Phlox | 3-8″ | 3-9 | Full sun | Pink, purple, blue. white | Well Drained, some clay acceptable | |
| Phlox subulata |
Sedum
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Angelina Sedum, | 4″-6″ | 5-8 | Full Sun, P/S | Chatruse/yellow | Well Drained | |
| Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina” |
Basket of Gold (Aurinia saxatilis)
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Basket of Gold | 6-12″ | 4-7 | Full Sun | Gold/yellow | Well Drained, can accept poor soil | |
| Aurinia saxatilis |
Bear Berry
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Bear Berry | 6-12″ | 2-6 | Full Sun | white or pink flower/ red berry | Takes poor soil including sandy soil, semi shrub, very dense | salt tolerant |
| Arctostaphylos uva-ursi |
Wall Germander
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Wall Germander | 12″ | 5-9 | Full Sun | Rose/Lavender flower. aromatic leaf dark green. | Well drained, water weekly in summer | Reference |
| Teucrium chamaedrys |
Lily of the Valley
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Lily of The Valley | 6″-10″ | 2-7/8 | Part/Sun-Shade | Dark Green | pH 5.2-7.5 | |
| White Flower |
Mondo Grass
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Mondo Grass | 6″-10″ | 6-10 | Part Sun/Shade | Dark Green | Loose?Loamy Slight Acidic | |
Bromiliads-Neoregelia
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Bromiliads | Var | 10/11 | Sun to Shade | Var | Well-drained | https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep337 |
| https://tropiflora.com/ | ||||||
| Neoregelia | 6″+ | “ | Part Sun | Var | WD/ Moist |
Ivy
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Algerian Ivy | 6″-12″ | 8b-10 | Shade | Green/white red stem | Well-drained | |
| Hedera canariensis | ||||||
| English Ivy | 6″-8″ | 4-8 | Shade | Many shades of green and other colors | Well-drained | |
| Hedera helix |
Bugleweed
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Bugleweed | 6″-12: | 8-9 | Sun-Part Sun-Shade | Purple/ blue Foliage | Well Drained | |
| Ajuga reptans | (other colors also) |
Liriope
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Liriope muscari ‘Silver Midget” | 6″-10″ | 5/6-10 | F/Sun-P/Sun-F/Shade | Dark green/White | Mod. Acid/Neutral | https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/liriope/ |
| Lavender Flower | Moist in year 1/then drought tolerant | |||||
| Liriope muscari | 6″-10″ | 5/6-10 | Part/ Sun | Medium Green Foliage | “ | |
| “Big Blue” | Blue flower | “ | ||||
| Liriope muscari | 12″-16″ | 5/6-10 | Part/Sun-Shade | Emerald green foliage | “ | |
| “Royal Purple” | Amethyst bloom | |||||
| Liriope muscari | “12-16” | 5/6-10 | “ | green foliage | ||
| “Monroe White” | White ‘pearl-like” flower | “ |
Amethyst in Snow
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Amethyst in Snow | 14″ | 3-7 | Full Sun, P/S | Flower, violet with interesting white petal, foliage silver green | Well drained, can accept low fertility | Forms dense clump |
| Centaurea montana |
Nepeta-Catmint
| Name | Size | Hardiness Zone | Light Requirements | Color | Soil/Moisture | Reference |
| Nepeta-or Catmint | 17-20″ | 3-8 | Full Sun | lavender | Well Drained to Dry | |
| Nepetax faassenii |
Using These Groundcovers In Your Garden
The ground cover you plant will add benefits over time. Not only beautiful to look at, green or flowering , but it acts for your garden like a living mulch. Once established, it will insulate the soil, keep out weeds, and its roots will slow the loss of water in the garden.
You may have places in your garden where you know you can use them. For some additional ideas here are some summer-blooming bulbs you can use within the lower groundcover.
Resources To Use
Roots and Maps Garden Resource Page-A broad range of gardening references, I continually add to these
How to Find a Low Maintenance Ground Cover We Will Love and the Rabbits Will NoT
Solve 10 Problems With Groundcovers
November in the South Florida Garden
Culinary Herbs-Some of these make beautiful and aromatic groundcovers.