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 Run for Cover
By
Maggie Oster, Borden, IN
The wonderfully fuzzy, silvery leaves of lamb's ears make an
attractive low-maintenance ground cover.
Ground covers may not seem the most exciting subject, but recent
readings offered a perspective that caught my attention. Although the
term ground covers may bring to mind a boring sea of pachysandra or ivy,
they do provide gardeners with a low-maintenance landscaping alternative
that prevents soil erosion, suppresses weed growth, and provides an
attractive background to other plantings.
The Research Approach
As reported in the February 15, 2006, issue of American Nurseryman
magazine, researchers in a joint study at Cornell University in Ithaca
and Riverhead, New York; and the Ohio Agricultural Research and
Development Center in Wooster, Ohio, were looking for ground covers
suited to the northeast and central United States. Their criteria were:
plants that were easy to establish and maintain, tolerant of
environmental extremes, able to effectively suppress weeds and resist
insects and diseases as well as browsing deer. Over a five-year period,
they evaluated a large number of herbaceous perennial ground covers in
full sun in field and roadside environments.
As might be expected, the most successful ground covers were the ones
that quickly established and maintained a dense foliar canopy. It's
important to remember that some weeding is needed, at least the first
year, even with the best ground covers. The following are their top
choices for low-maintenance landscapes:
1. Alchemilla mollis 'Thriller' - Grows 8 to 16 inches tall and
12 inches wide; velvety green leaves and chartreuse flowers in spring.
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2. Aster ericoides 'Schneegitter' - A garden form of a native
aster growing 4 to 8 inches tall with mounds of white flowers in late
summer and fall.
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3. Dianthus deltoides 'Brilliant' - Evergreen foliage growing 8
inches tall and 16 inches wide with deep rose-colored flowers.
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4. Heuchera 'Chocolate Veil' - Forms a dense canopy of
chocolate-colored leaves. (My question is, "How do other heucheras
compare and was this one significantly better?")
5. Laurentia fluviatilis - Commonly called blue star creeper,
this is a ground-hugger with blue flowers all summer.
6. Mazus reptans - Another ground-hugger with blue flowers in
late spring; can be invasive.
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7. Nepeta x faassenii 'Walker's Low' - Growing 12 to 20
inches tall and 16 inches wide, this catmint bears long-blooming blue
flowers. Needs to be cut down in spring and sheared back midsummer for
repeat bloom.
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8. Persicaria affinis - Grows 5 to 8 inches tall with pink
flowers. The invasive nature of the persicarias makes me nervous to use
them.
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9. Phlox subulata 'Emerald Blue' - A garden form of the native
creeping phlox, it has blue-violet flowers in spring. Cut back to 3
inches in spring to encourage new growth.
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10. Potentilla neumanniana 'Nana' - Growing 3 to 4 inches tall,
this dwarf cinquefoil has shiny leaflets and yellow flowers.
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11. Rhus aromatica 'Gro-Low' - A garden form of the native
fragrant sumac, this woody plant grows to 20 inches tall and 6 to 7 feet
wide. The glossy green leaves turn orange-red in autumn.
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12. Sedum acre 'Gold Moss' - Another ground-hugger with green to
blue-green, succulent foliage and yellow, star-shaped flowers in summer.
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13. Solidago phacelata - A native goldenrod growing 6 to 12
inches tall with yellow flowers in late summer and fall. It is both
drought and salt tolerant. 'Golden Fleece' is a cultivar.
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14. Stachys byzantina - The wonderfully fuzzy leaves of lamb's
ears grow to 12 inches tall. The cultivar 'Silver Carpet' does not
bloom.
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15. Thymus serpyllum --Creeping thyme is a ground-hugging,
drought-tolerant form, bearing pink flowers.
A More Personal View
In the 2006 issue of Horticulture, Joe Eck writes of American
native ground covers for shady conditions. Among his favorites are
Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens), wandflower (Galax
urceolata), bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), and Canby's
paxistima (Paxistima canbyi).
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