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Northern Gardening

invasive tall ground cover for dry partial shade/sun

16 years ago

I need some type of fast growing taller flower to put in my back yard.....way back of yard where I don't cut the grass. It is all complete dry dirt/clay/sand and it looks terrible. I'm growing grass there now but thought it'd look a little nicer if I had some flowers back there.

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Comments (10)

katefisher
16 years ago
You might consider Bishop's Weed. They don't flower but I personally love the foliage. It IS invasive so be careful in planting. If you are backed up next to a woodland area or meadow that has many natives I would think carefully before planting this guy.

Hope that helps.

Kate

Here is a link that might be useful: Aegopodium podagraria 'Variegatum'
User
16 years ago
Hi,
Herbs often grow well in your backyard situation - believe it or not.
Lavender for example.
You can also grow some ornamental grasses like Pampass grass. It does grow into a HUGE clump of about 4-5 feet over time and is beautiful. The birds love the seeds in the fall.
Amaranthus ponytails (love-lies-bleeding) also thrives in this condition - (email me and I can send you seeds which will grow quickly). This plant also gives abundant seeds which grow quickly.
Coneflowers - such as purple coneflowers. (I may have some of these seeds left but not sure.) They grow about 3-4 feet tall and the monarch butterflies love these. I grow mine in the same conditions you described in a front garden HOT area and they thrive every year.
Brown-eyed Susans also grow along with the purple coneflowers in the hot garden bed.

There is also a product you can order from the US for this type of soil problem from ZEBA called Quench. (They ship from Vancouver.) This product looks like tiny granules, which when watered down absort about 400 times their weight. They are environmentally friendly. You don't need to use much. I just added this to my front hot garden and the rain this week is being absorbed. This product is used in golf courses throughout the US. I have provided a link for it below. (www.zeba.com) This product is better than other water crystals (which are derived from petroleum) as the Quench product is made from cornstarch!

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
McPeg

Here is a link that might be useful: Search site for
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Jxa, you don't indicate in your profile where you live, but Cornus canadensis is a native groundcover in the Dogwood family that grows in the northern tier of the US and Canada (and northern sections of other continents). Its native habitat is coniferous forests, in moist, acidic, shade or part shade. From what I've read, it is a very fussy plant that will not tolerate hot dry conditions and does not grow well in locations where the summers are hot. I can understand why you salivated, it has those beautiful Dogwood flowers and makes red berries very similar to Cornus florida, flowering Dogwood. I have lots of Vinca in my yard, and it is just about the only plant here that will grow anywhere - including dry shade under a Norway maple! Just be forewarned, vigorous ground covers like Vinca and Ajuga are pretty invasive - the same characteristics that enable them to grow in a difficult location make them vigorous spreaders. Mowing the Vinca around the edges keeps it under control. I am removing a lot of it from my yard however, because I've discovered that nothing grows well in the middle of the Vinca - it chokes it out. Well except for large shrubs and trees.
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If you're doing a cover crop then part of the sequence is to actually cut the crop before it comes to flower so you get plenty of juicy material that rots down quickly - and has enough fibre to not make a felted mess (like you see with heaps of grass clippings.) The roots stay in the soil and, as they rot down, add even more humus to the soil. It is really important to not bury the cover crop deeply, It can combine with clay to make a bit of a toxic brew for a while. If you live in a rural area observe how the farmers disc in the crop residue (hoping that they don't burn off.) You might also notice that some farmers turn stock onto the crop residue to clean up and add manure before they disc. You'll need to have an acceptable process to add extra nitrogen to the soil as the cover crop rots down. Something slow acting, such as blood and bone could be useful, although it can attract animals. Perhaps dried animal manure would be an alternative. Your biggest hassle would come if you have a perennial weed (like dandelions, dock, twitch grass, or whatever your local nightmare/s happen to be) growing in your cover crop. The darned things LOVE being disced. It spreads little bits of root everywhere - and, being weeds, they usually all grow. A cover crop can be highly useful in a poor soil - and to give protection if wind or heavy rain moves soil in your area. You might also want to consider growing a cleaning crop such as potatoes, or rows of peas that need regular weed control and/or hilling up. If you were to lay down a mulch between the rows, along the lines that lindac has suggested, then you could have 'the best of both worlds'. If you do decide on doing the cover crop - and leaving it over winter (a ryegrass, mustard, lupin, barley, clover, vetch crop would probably all be suitable) remember to leave enough time between the cutting back, digging in - and your planned planting date - for the material to rot down, or plant crops that will tolerate quantities of partially rotted material in the soil. Also think about any fertiliser/liming that needs to be done, too. Those additions need time to become effective in the soil for following crops - and some crops don't like them too fresh.
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Thanks Carla. I didn't realize there was a Trailing Lantana. It sure is gorgeous! I was intending to plant a Turks Cap in this spot, and looking for groundcover to accompany it. Otoh, something like the trailing lantana would be fine by itself. How much sun does lantana need? How well does it do without supplemental watering? Deb - I'd love a start of your snakeherb. :~) We built our house in the woods, and have replaced very little of the local native plant/weed population. We haven't yet managed to eradicate all of the giant ragweed, but at least the numbers have been significantly reduced! With the exception of a few beds, I don't want anything that looks manicured, needs mowing, or needs much water. We have 3 huge rainwater tanks, and ideally they would supply all the supplemental water. Most of the "lawn" area is covered by the septic spray, which isn't a lot of water, but is some.
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User
16 years ago
Correction on site title.

Here is a link that might be useful: Quench Product
User
16 years ago
Hi,
I could send some of this to you in a padded envelope with the plant wrapped in wet paper towels in a ziplock baggie.
Please note NOT to plant this anywhere near a neighbors yard.
This plant is now on the Ontario list for invasive plants.
I still think it is very, very pretty for areas where nothing else will grow.
Let me know if you want this too.
clairabelle
16 years ago
Howzabout Solidago (also known at Goldenrod). Hard to beat.
I second the ornemental grasses. You want something zero maintenance.
organic_helene
16 years ago
Also you might try Crown Vetch - it's a member of the pea family, has pretty pink & white flowers, sends runners all summer long. It's only my 2nd year, but the plant doesn't seem to be too invasive. Before trying it I'd amend your soil first with some compost or fresh top soil.
Good luck.
jennie_in_mt
16 years ago
Achillea. It comes in lots of colors and heights and spreads.
yardgroupie
16 years ago
Jerusalem Artichoke? Also known as false sunflower. A wonderfully invasive plant that used to be planted in the thirties for erosion control. It's TALL, four to five feet, and spreads by root system. The flowers bright yellow, look like smaller sunflowers. It doesn't like shade, so wouldn't be a problem if your yard backs up on woods.

Caveat: The flowers arrive in late July, early August, so there's a lot of green stalk to put up with in early summer.

Plus: The roots are edible, if you like one-inch wide tubers.
marricgardens
16 years ago
How tall did you want the flowers to be? Here are a few suggestions. Personally if you want a flower bed I would plant a mixture.
- anise hyssop. It has lilac/purple 'candles' on top in mid summer and smells like licorice after a rain
- I agree with yarrow for late summer fall flowers
- Monarda/Bee Balm
- Evening Primrose
- Maltese Cross
- Daylilies
These are just a few suggestions. If you want to make a flower bed out there I would suggest planting shorter plants in front. Some would be lavender (as suggested), perennial geraniums, campanula, liatris. I have these in my butterfly/hummingbird garden. A plant that I almost forgot to mention was Sedum. I have 'Luxuriant' and a variegated form of it. They are fall flowering with flat, pink, fuzzy flowers that butterflies love. I also have sedum acre which a lot of gardeners find very invasive. I have it growing around various perennial and using it as a mulch. Hope this gives you some more ideas. Marg
mngardener1
16 years ago
I agree, bee balm is great - how about ferns? They don't flower, but are basically maintenance free and are clean looking.

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