Shrubs as Groundcovers

Spring 2008- Vol. 21 No.1

Filling a large area of your garden quickly can often prove challenging.  Often times there are areas that you do not want to use as an extensive garden or it is too steep and area to plant in grass and mow.  Our most common suggestions for these type of situations are fast spreading plants such as some varieties of daylilies and, if it is hot and sunny, low growing junipers.  For gardeners who want something a little more interesting there are some attractive choices.

1.   Pavement Roses were bred to be mass planted in parking lot medians.  They are durable Rugosa type roses that in poor soils will spread and stay low.  In better soils they will put on some height but still really spread.  Full sun is best.  They spread by suckers and blooms are either pure white or deep pink.  They respond well to pruning.

2.   Rhus aromatica ‘Gro Low’ is a fragrant sumac that is excellent for massing in beds and bank control.  Fragrant small flowers are followed by the familiar hairy red fruit that birds love. In the fall the foliage turns a wonderful scarlet to orange.
 
3.  Deutzia g. ‘Nikko’ is a sweet delicate looking shrub that is prized for its pure white flowers in late spring.  It grows only 2 feet tall and does die back a bit each winter.  We prune it in early spring and again after flowering.  One plant can cover 4 to 5 feet.

4.   Alpine Currant is an incredibly hardy shrub with good disease resistance that grows 3 feet by 3 feet.  Its greenish yellow flowers are followed by scarlet berries.  Plant it in full sun to part shade and it will happily live a long, unattended to life.
 
5.  Lespedeza (Shrub Clover) has been growing in the area for years.  We carry the variety ‘Edo Shibori’ which will get only about 3 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 5 feet.  It’s fast growing stems become so heavy they arch over producing a fountain effect.  Very easy to grow.  Cut back to the ground in the winter to induce new shoots and larger flowers.  Grows in sun to part shade.

6.  Indigofera kirilowii (Indigo) This is a low, dense, suckering shrub that is great for a mass planting. In June, vivid rose-pink flower spikes cover the entire shrub.  It may die back to the ground in severe winters.  Be patient with it in the spring as it is very late to break dormancy. Growth is 3 feet by 3 feet and it prefers sun.
  
All of these plant choices would add interest both with flowers and leaf texture to any hard to manage site.  Look for them in our garden center display area.