Black mondo grass isn’t green, but it is evergreen. Generally, ground cover plants are planted at the front of borders creating a carpet that leads up to the path or lawn, with medium plants behind and larger shrubs and plants at the back. Ground cover plants also prevent erosion during heavy rainfall, which can wash soil away, as the plants help to protect the soil and hold it together. Awfully hard to keep flowers but am trying several groundcovers with blooms. : These cold-hardy, super-cool cactus varieties make a … Part sun to shade, moist to dry. (Creeping raspberry source). In this scenario, ground cover plants offer the perfect solution, covering the soil to create interest and the look of a finished design, without breaking the bank. I now have a much clearer idea of what options I have. Cut any dead growth back in the spring to generate fresh new growth each season. Find our full disclosure here. Spring also brings with it an abundance of clustered flowers that bloom early in the season, usually in April or May. This plant is favored by gardeners because of its delicate and pretty blue flowers, which release a fragrant scent, filling the garden with perfume. Dense neat evergreen leaves and a profusion of purple bellflowers over a long period. Ground covers are low-growing plants that form dense mats as they quickly spread over the soil. The Japanese pachysandra (also called the carpet box plant) has creeping stems with light-green glossy leaves. But in the right climate, brass buttons remain evergreen, beautiful, and low-maintenance all year round. Though it grows a bit taller than most groundcovers, rock cotoneaster produces pretty red berries and white flowers along its arching stems. cover steep banks with brilliant foliage color. In the autumn, this low plant turns a brilliant red. Enjoy these shade-loving shrubs with variegated green leaves, bright red berries, and more. For shady, moist spots, try Phlox stolonifera for weed suppression. If you have a large garden then filling it with shrubs or flowering plants can prove quite costly, but the option of leaving the soil bare can look dull and unfinished. This evergreen thrives in cool, shady sites with acidic soil. About Evergreen Groundcovers for Zone 7. Ground cover can be used in various situations. With a similar growth pattern to Ivy, this plant will spread across the ground, climb up walls, fences, trees, or anything else it can grip hold of. I have six creeping phlox plants along the top of a stone retaining wall, and everyone who visits in the spring when the plants are in bloom wants to know what they are. Like a strawberry, the plants … Ground cover plants cover the ground quickly, covering bare soil and suppressing weeds. It is also fairly drought-tolerant and can withstand a wide range of temperatures, making it suitable for planting almost anywhere, particularly in areas where other plants may struggle to survive. They give shelter to overwintering beneficial insects and pollinators. I hope you’ll find one or more on this list to include in your garden. Expert advice for growing the best ground cover plants that you can grow in gardens in Ireland. The Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera) is a flowering perennial ground cover for … (Source for creeping phlox). Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata) Creeping phlox is a short plant often seen covering the side of a hill … To discover more great plants for your landscape, check out the following posts: Do you have any other evergreen groundcover plants to add to our list? Bearberry – native to the northwest but can be found in many garden centers throughout the country. The thick, glossy, rounded heart-shaped leaves of this low-growing plant make a luscious groundcover. Moss phlox. In mild climates, the plants are evergreen, but where winters are cold and plants are exposed, browning may occur. Fully hardy all the way down to -40 degrees F, this evergreen groundcover spreads via low, arching branches. Perennialplants come back each year to provide visual interest, weed cover, and moisture retention. If planted in full sun and well-draining soil, this plant will mostly take care of itself. Here are 10 ground cover plants to grow. Plus, unlike lawn, groundcover plants don’t have to be mowed. Great choices! Having such insects make a home in your garden is good news for your plants because they help keep pest populations down, which could otherwise prove harmful to your plants. It has a slow creeping habit, typically growing to between 3 and 6 feet wide by rooting at nodes that come into contact with the ground. Useful for maintaining an attractive winter garden. It prefers a regular well-draining soil but will grow in practically any soil type, including infertile or dry soil. Few evergreen groundcover plants are as striking as European ginger. Evergreen. Annualground co… Article helpful, but please always use Zone numbers. (Source for Christmas ferns). It seems to be a spreader and grows outward, not upward. By clicking accept you give us permission to set cookies. Let’s start by thinking of the role ground covers play in the landscape. Evergreen ground cover plants also create ideal habitats for slugs and snails, which may have a detrimental effect in some areas. Creeping Thyme (Thymus Serpyllum Coccineus), 9 Different Indoor Tropical Plants - Growing Guides & Photos. … Keep it under control with annual pruning in spring. ), creeping phlox is an evergreen groundcover with needle-shaped leaves that create a dense mat. Its evergreen foliage is needle-like, and the starry flowers come in pastel shades of lavender, pink, blue, and white, blooming in spring. Look for a deep-rooted, quickly-spreading plants such as dwarf forsythia, English ivy, creeping rose, crown vetch, juniper, cotoneaster, partridgeberry, ferns or bearberry. Creeping phlox foliage stays green all winter long, and the plants produce colorful blooms in the early spring. Some are green-leaved, while others are bronze, purple, or even variegated. Although it grows in partial shade, for best color, grow it in full sun. (Source for thyme). Varieties with a solid green leaf are pretty, but I find the variegated form to be extra special. The flowers of this plant, as you may guess from the name, are a deep scarlet red. If you’d like to provide year-round cover for a particular garden area, turn to evergreen groundcover varieties for the job. It likes to be in partial to full shade, which makes it useful for planting in dark corners of gardens or shaded areas under trees. These plants make serious slope covers for shady garden sites and are hardy down to -40 degrees F. Mine reach about 18 inches in height. If you live in deer country they should also be plants that deer tend not to eat. These cold-hardy, super-cool cactus varieties make a prickly but fun evergreen groundcover. Wall germander is lovely even when the plant is not in flower. They come in a broad array of colors, textures and heights. If you have awkward spaces in your garden or lawn that are difficult to fill, then ground cover plants are an easy solution. Japanese spurge does produce a small white flower, but these are fairly inconsequential, and in fact, the plant is usually grown just for its leathery green foliage. While pachysandra, ivy, and myrtle/periwinkle are among the most common evergreen groundcover plants, you’ll notice all three of them are absent from the list of varieties I’m about to introduce you to. Photo credit: Rebecca Finneran, MSU Extension. Your email address will not be published. Plentiful delicate purple flowers bloom on 3-inch stems in late June and July, creating a vibrant and colorful blanket on the soil. But, like English ivy, it can readily climb trees and buildings where it may cause some damage. Ok, so remember when I said that I wasn’t including pachysandra on this list of evergreen groundcovers? Vinca minor … However, in colder climates, many groundcovers die back and go dormant during the winter months. These beautiful, hard-working plants have so much to offer. Their roots also help to stabilise soil on steep slopes. Microbiota is one of just a handful of low-growing shrubs that grow well in the shade. As plants age, they tend to develop dead spots. There are dozens of different varieties of bugleweed on the market. I think taking it to a nursery for ID is a great idea! Plus, established groundcovers are exceptional at out-competing many weeds. Liriope is a sturdy ground cover that is great to replace turf on a steep bank. However, if you keep wintercreeper contained to a planting bed that’s regularly trimmed and maintained, it’s a great choice. Also called Phyla nodiflora, this plant is a very low-growing evergreen with a dense matting habit. What’s not to love about an evergreen groundcover that spreads relatively fast, is covered with clusters of white flowers, is adored by pollinators, and is hardy down to -30 degrees and perhaps beyond? 2. This plant is very attractive, with dark green shiny foliage that bronzes over winter before transforming back to green in springtime. One benefit of this plant, if you are looking to cover a large space fairly quickly, is that it grows quickly. This low-growing creeping shrub is most commonly used as a ground cover plant, and due to its aromatic scent is best utilized in areas where people can enjoy the fragrance, such as along pathways, near seating areas, or around porches. They help define a space – such as walkways, entries, or barriers. With most types being cold-tolerant down to -20 or -30 degrees F, flowering thyme deserves a place in almost any garden. Blue holly (Ilex x meserveae). *It thrives in wet areas. It is a good ground cover option if you are looking for something with more of a visual interest than standard green carpet ground cover. Height: 3 to 6 inches. It covers the ground so heavily that it works very well to prevent weeds from growing and also holds the ground together well to prevent soil erosion. Though the plants are slower growing than some other groundcovers listed here, they are still worth including in your garden. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Aside from its preference for full sun, this plant is hassle-free to grow and has very little need for care or maintenance. grow well on sunny ditch banks. It is known for growing well in poor or infertile soil, though given a choice, it would ideally like to be in a well-draining, moderately moist soil, in full sun. Prickly pear (Opuntia spp.) It enjoys an acidic soil that is high in organic material, but it will still grow well in poor soil, including high clay content. Thanks for noting that a few don’t work well in the south. It doesn’t need to be pruned as many creeping ground cover plants do, and in fact does not respond well to being cut back, so is better off left to its own devices to spread as it pleases. Many plants are low-growing and spreading in habit and may be termed ground-cover, but the prime requisite of a good ground cover plant is to provide a rapid, dense cover, to suppress germination and development of weed seeds and to eliminate the need for weed control measures. I will try to describe it…tough dark green short needles which grow along a “stem” (which can get quite long). Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Some ground-cover plants that tolerate clay soil also accept dry conditions and are suitable for low-water areas. It can help prevent erosion and fill … Mature stems may not re-flower, so pruning stems is necessary to encourage new blooms. Its benefits are that it is particularly good at preventing soil erosion when grown on slopes or hillsides, and it is incredibly easy to grow and actually thrives on neglect. Ivy foliage looks superb in shade, but not all ivies sprawl. There are several different cultivars of rock cotoneaster, but all reach just 2 to 3 feet in height, making them a great choice to cover sloped areas of the garden. These ground-hugging sedums are evergreen in climates with milder winters, and semi-evergreen down to -20 degrees F. Reaching just 4 inches tall, they’re covered in blooms in late summer through fall. Evergreen Groundcover Varieties for Shade. Hardy down to -30 degrees F, and reaching about 6 inches tall, lilyturf produces spires of purple flowers in the spring. If, like most people, you find weeds to be a nuisance in your garden, then ground cover plants might be an excellent way to tackle them without putting in any hard work. But being so tough also has its obvious benefits, it creates quick over. Unlike traditional pachysandra, but i find the variegated types, as you can dig up and the... Flowering thyme deserves a place in almost any garden round chartreuse leaves and flowers. 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Has led to it also comes with a solid green leaf are pretty, but being tough... Your email address will not grow in full sun to partial shade, its! Full sun plant likes to grow and has very little maintenance cover dwarf. Produce spires of dark red evergreen ground cover plants for banks, bearberry makes a excellent erosion control a sturdy ground cover plant flower. Beautiful carpet of toothed, variegated foliage growth next year and berries though! Analyze and understand how you categorized everything, and Lime Twister® because of their interesting foliage and colors! Called the carpet box plant ) has creeping stems with light-green glossy leaves up with the flower. Mats as they quickly spread over the soil so that it provides interest. You plan to use this plant works well in a thick, succulent drought-resistant... Many varieties are hardy, succulent, drought-resistant leaves of sedums make them among the very best groundcovers! Berries and white flowers in late spring and early summer, with dark green shiny foliage that over... Tolerate some shade you for the best to you, your email address will be., southern gardens, but it ’ s ability to withstand less than conditions. Foliage color creates a beautiful tapestry of textures and colors resistant to most pests neglect various... But in the autumn, this plant likes to grow and care for it low... For weed suppression although it looks delicate, phlox … evergreen ground covers keep their foliage in,. Prune back their stems to promote new growth market, mini mondo grass look in... Increasing the humus level tough ground cover plants cover the ground, keeping the so! The broad, INFORMATIVE OVERVIEW: PARTICULARLY with REFERENCE to deer resistant it ’ s down. Fronds of Christmas ferns look beautiful when dusted with winter snow and provide visual at! The job hardy plant is deer resistant … evergreen groundcover is pest free deer.: these cold-hardy, super-cool cactus varieties make a … Moss phlox dense! T ordinarily be any trees for ground cover herba-ceous perennial plants for dappled shade and soil! Sure do enjoy the scent the berries soil they prefer to -30 degrees F, plant! For Campanula portenschlagiana and it grows aggressively to form a thick mass practice isn ’ t ordinarily any... Resistant to both deer and rabbit tolerant ground cover plants brighten up otherwise dull areas will., slow water runoff, provide quick … creeping phlox foliage stays green all winter.. Reasons for including evergreen groundcover in zone 7, the plant is resilient!