Groundcover for full shade, wet, clay
kiosan
15 years ago
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satellitehead
15 years agoIris GW
15 years agoRelated Discussions
Suggestions for a colorful fall shrub, shaded and dense wet clay?
Comments (4)Other possibilities, that can take the part-shade, include Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet', which has early summer, white flowers and red-purple fall foliage, or 'Saturnalia', flowers the same, and has multi-colored fall foliage. the first grows to about 3-4' x 4-6', and I believe the second takes after the species, maybe a bit smaller, but probably 4-8' x 4-6'. Beautyberry, Callicarpa species would be another thought - the fall foliage isn't wonderfull, but the berries are - there are native and Oriental selections, most of them with purple berries, but one has white berries, showing up about now. They can get big, but taking out a third of the stems annually, after the first few years, will keep them smaller. They do sucker, as does Itea, but they are easy enough to take out if you are prompt! Oakleaf Hydrangeas, Hydrangea quercifolia, gets red leaves in the fall - there are several cultivars, with tighter flowers, heights, etc., and a new one with lime-yellow leaves, 'Little Honey', that stays small, under 3-4'. Winterberry, Ilex verticillata, isn't noted for fall foliage, but rather for the red berries which persist into mid-winter - you need both a male and a female to get berries. Size for these can be kept by pruning - but most are 6-10' by the same....See Moregroundcover for clay soil in full sun
Comments (5)You really have two separate issues, the grub problem and what to grow as a groundcover. Is this in place of the lawn for the whole yard? If so, grass is probably easiest as far as maintenance if you deal with the grub issue. Milky spore disease or nematodes are two nontoxic ways to deal with grubs, and if you are in the warmer end of New England Milky spore will involve one application that takes a couple of years to build up to good effectiveness. I imagine that the grubs will cause problems for other plants than grass, though I am not sure that would be the case for all plants. I always work better from a photo or at least a description of the area: size, growing zone, how much work you are willing to do, aesthetic preferences. Do you want the look of all the same or do you want a variety so that it looks more like a garden? Are you willing to put in some type of barrier and do the work needed to keep the ground cover from migrating from your yard to the neighbors' if you share boundaries? (In the case of aggressive running groundcovers, good barriers make for more friendly neighbor relations.) Are you open to shrubby groundcovers? What kind of ordinances does your city have about lawns? What is the drainage like (are you on a slope, does water pond in the area you are considering, have you done a percolation test?) Does it have to be evergreen or is a plant that dies to the ground in winter OK, especially if you renew the mulch after freeze to keep it tidy looking? Some general comments and suggestions: Getting rid of the grass and controlling weeds for the time until your groundcover gets established will be a lot of work. For many groundcovers, mulch will be your friend. Improving the soil with a combination of coarse and finer organic matter may open up more plant choices, depending on how much clay is in your soil and what the slope is like. My first thought was also periwinkle/myrtle/Vinca. The house I grew up in had Pachysandra growing in clay in sun until shortly after noon, but had bright shade from the house in the hottest part of the day, so I am not sure how this will do. Evergreen Bugleweed/Ajuga reptans will grow in full sun, and isn't fussy about soil. Evergreen, flowers, colored foliage. Bishop's weed/goutweed/Aegopodium podagraria has a variegated form that is a good groundcover that is tolerant of many growing conditions. My inlaws have it growing on a dry sunny slope, but I have also seen it in half day sun on clay and in full shade. If drainage is good, some sedums, thymes, creeping cottoneaster (woody), creeping Juniper (woody, evergreen), or one of the lower growing Nepeta/catmints might work. Cranberry doesn't need a bog to grow, just averge moisture, so if your soil is acid it might work with mulch. Evergreen Mazus reptans might work. Bearberry/Arctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Massachusetts' (woody, evergreen) Cutleaf Stephanandra/Stephanandra incisa ‘Crispa’ woody, fall color In a smaller area, perennial candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) may work. Evergreen. If a taller groundcover is OK, and you don't mind a area that is bare of plants in winter, it's hard to beat old-fashioned orange daylilies. The photo is of a daylily bed just starting to sprout in the spring. The mulch is renewed after die-back in the winter and helps control weeds and erosion and keeps things looking tidy when there's no snow....See Moreshort groundcover for summer dry/winter wet
Comments (8)I have no idea about the winter wet but am impressed with a ground cover I bought last year- 2 kinds of Acaena. There is a blue green form, A. saccaticulpula Blue Haze, that is more vigorous and a purple form, A inermis purpureum, that is much less vigorous. They are Stepables so you could see them on their website, which may also have searches for your conditions. They are on level ground in heavy clay so may be good in wet? The blue green one is covered with seed stalks now so I may be able to spread it a lot. It is related to Salad Burnet, which has enormous potential to self-seed, but I'm not worried as it looks like the ground cover I've been wanting to suppress weeds in my beds but be compatible with my roses. I also have Baby Blue Eyes, I believe Isotoma, in a low bed by my driveway that may be very wet in winter and dry in summer, and it does well. It is dormant in the winter. A ground cover that will do very well in wet conditions but not so good for the dry part is Hot Tuna, Houttuynia cordata. It has variegated leaves but goes dormant in winter....See MoreWet clay, full shade, close neighbors
Comments (2)Most plants that provide edible fruit/berries/foliage simply do not thrive in much shade - by and large they need full sun or close to it. The major exceptions, especially in the PNW, would be the huckleberries - both evergreen and deciduous (Vaccinium ovatum and V. parviflora). Again, these need some decent light to flower and fruit well but they are quite shade tolerant and are common native woodland species. If you want to range a bit further afield, you could try salal (Gaultheria shallon) and Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium) - both of these are native woodland plants and produce berries favored by the indigenous native peoples. These berries need to be cooked before very palatable. Any of the Fargesia species do well in shade but if in heavy shade, may not grow as quickly or as densely as they would with a bit more light. But unless your are of the panda persuasion, bamboo is unlikely to be very tasty :-) You could also try Camellia sinensis or tea plant. Camellias are very shade adapted and you can harvest the new growth to make your own tea. Again, heavy shade is going to restrict or limit growth. Other good plants for shade that can provide privacy screen are Japanese laurel (Aucuba japonica) and Japanese aralia (Fatsia japonica). Both of these will take quite heavy shade as well....See Moremayland
15 years agojeff_al
15 years agobrowneyedsusan_gw
15 years agokiosan
15 years agoIris GW
15 years agojeff_al
15 years agodavidcf
15 years agoIris GW
15 years ago
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