Many situations in the home landscape call for a cover of plants rather than grass in certain areas, because of slope, shade, difficulty of mowing or aesthetic reasons. Ground covers are plants, which will fulfill these requirements as a substitute for grass.

The term ground cover, usually means a low, spreading mat forming plant no more than twelve inches in height. Some ground cover, such as the sedums and phlox perform well only in full sun, while others such as hosta, lamium and lily of the valley prefer partial to full shade.

If you are using a ground cover on a steep bank, you should select a plant which can withstand dry conditions. Steep banks, especially those exposed to the southwest will accumulate very little soil moisture. Sedum, creeping Juniper and phlox have low moisture requirements.

In areas, bordering on ponds, lakes or streams, moisture lowing plants should be used. Ajuga, ginger, hosta and vinca will all tolerate moist soil conditions. Before planting lily of the valley, remember that it is very invasive. It's very difficult to keep from spreading into your lawn or other area unless you have a barrier around it.

Many of the ground covers used in our area require some type of winter protection. Usually snow will provide adequate protection but in open winters some dieback will occur in these groundcovers. Bishop's Weed, pachystima, pachysandra and the Vinca minor all require some type of winter protection.

The spacing of ground covers will depend on how quickly you wish the area to be covered, the ultimate spread of the plant and most important---your budget. Groundcover plants are generally more expensive than grass. However they aren't as expensive as bark chip mulches. On slopes or banks, place the ground covers closer than you would on flat surfaces. Many of the ground covers will root along the stem as they touch a moist soil surface. This allows for more rapid covering of bare soil. Bark mulch with a buried layer of plastic may also be used around ground cover plants.

This page was last updated April 2003

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