sturdy ground cover for P. Shade to Full Shade

18 years ago

I have a area on the side of the house that is directly under several large trees which is why I am having problems growing grass on that side. (part shade to full shade all day) Due to that I am looking for other alternatives. So far from the research I have found so far on the web, on my list is moss, vinca minor and Ajuga. Since I am by no means a expert gardener I really don't know which if any would work in my situation.

What are the growing habits? Are they sturdy enough to withstand foot traffic (Moderate)? Any thing else I might need to know? I originally thought about IVY but hey we all know that IVY grows everywhere. Not really interested in that. I am going to home depot Friday to check out what they have.

I might mention that this side of the yard has a tendency to flood during spring rains. We have had many times where we have had a foot of water standing so the plants would need to be able to deal with that. Being in IL we also have hot, dry, humid summers so the plants would have to be able to deal with that as well. Is there such a plant that can deal with both extremes with ease?

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Comments (6)

chenya_gardener
Original Author
18 years ago
I guess I forgot to add that this area is in front of our shed so whatever we grow needs to stay low to the ground. Preferably 2-4" or so. Also this is a rather large area. Approx 10-15' wide by 25-30' long I'm guessing. I haven't been able to actually measure it yet becuase of all the rain lately.
tjsangel
18 years ago
Vinca would be a good choice, but I'm not sure if it could stand in water and survive long. Creeping Jenny is a beautiful shade groundcover that loves moisture, it's bright colored and tough. Lily of the Valley is another one to consider, and also Lamium, although if it's to hot it wont look nice in summer. Good luck!

Jen
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Thank you all so much for your detailed replies! Sorry it took me a bit to get back to everyone. gardengal48~I am indeed in CA--East Bay, with a desert-like micro climate but since we have in-ground sprinklers to keep the yard green, the spot I'm looking at stays pretty moist (since there's no sun to evaporate moisture). The spot is between the front yard and house, and is about 10-15ft wide by 4-6ft deep (I haven't measured yet, and don't think this would be considered "large"). I've looked up a few of the plants that have been suggested, and I like the idea of a low growing ground cover like the vinca minor, but want to avoid anything that is invasive and requires more than minor maintenance. I think what I'll do is make a list of what I like from the suggestions, and take it to a nursery to see what they offer for this area, and see if there is something I can plant in the next few months. I think it's good to have a list to go off of instead of walking in there and having to go with what they suggest (done that, didn't like the results).
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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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You folks are awesome! I'll try to answer all the questions... What was there already: 3 hydrangeas, 1 scraggly rhodie, 3 geraniums, several unidentified scraggly shrubs, 2 salvia, hyacinth, several spring bulbs that don't flower (only greenery) and trees (hickory and invasive Norway maple). What I have planted over the past 2 growing seasons: oat grass (against the fence), 1 honeysuckle (against the fence), lamb's ear, 4 lavender, 4 thyme, 4 sage, 4 oregano (I love to cook), 6 daylilies, 3 bleeding heart bulbs, 6 astilbe bulbs, garden phlox/coneflower/rudbeckia (all get eaten by squirrels/chipmunks/groundhogs), crocus bulbs (gets eaten as well), lupine and sweet woodruff. Treatment of the beds: year 1 we applied (not free) compost. Year 2 (last year) we cut down 3 Norway maples and chipped them for mulch. We mulch with shredded leaves (6 inches depth) every fall and mulch with our maple mulch in spring. We have an irrigation system that we run when we don't have enough rain and it gets 90% of the beds. I will hand-water whatever it doesn't reach. The soil looks good - nice and black with tons of worms, although it's definitely on the rocky/sandy side. We are 1 mile from the ocean on top of a granite ledge so the majority of the soil was brought in when the house was built 30 years ago. Growing grass in our shady areas is an exercise in futility! Future plans: I'm not a big fan of shrubs in general. I have no interest in evergreens or "winter interest" since we spend zero time in the yard in winter. I'm happy to have all perennials back there. It's quite shady back there and if I was starting from scratch I'd get rid of all the trees and plant different ones: Japanese maple, Kousa dogwood, some fruit trees etc but currently doing all that is cost-prohibitive since we have $30k of ice damn damage that needs to be repaired :( I'd also like to get some spring bulbs in - muscari edging, maybe some daffodils (since I know they won't get eaten), and I'm hoping the lily of the valley I planted will one day show up. We have a ton of hostas in other parts of the yard, so I'd like to go with other things if possible. Regarding the sweet woodruff - do I need to move the mulch in order to encourage it to spread? Perhaps that's part of the problem?
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waplummer
18 years ago
symphytum grandiflorum, Comfrey, miaght be worthwhile looking in to.
ego45
18 years ago
Classic pachysandra will tolerate any of the given by you conditions except it doesn't like to be stepped on.
Even a very light traffic.
Vinca minor could withstand ocassional step on, but also is not suitable for traffic areas.
Moss?
mainegrower
18 years ago
The requirements you've outlined are pretty daunting. Few plants will tolerate submersion in water for any length of time, full shade eliminates many possbilities, and withstanding foot traffic complicates matters even more. So..
How about a stone or masonry path to deal with the foot traffic issue?
What grows there now? This could be a helpful indication.
Creeping jenny might work and so might sweet woodruff, but you would need a huge number of plants to fill an area this size.
Moss would be a good choice if you can find a source of sods. Perhaps there's somewhere they could be collected with the land owner's permission. Moss is a terific germination bed for weeds of all types, it's hard to rake leaves up without causing damage, so it's not a low maintanence solution.
If nothing at all grows here now indicating near impossible conditions for plants, I think I'd opt for a stone/masonry path surrounded by gravel mulch (bark would float away). You could certainly plant ferns and other shade tolerant plants here and there. Any shade tolerant plants which grow in flood plains should be suitable.
sugarhill
17 years ago
I think mainegrower has a really good idea. I'd probably use pine straw for the ground cover. It doesn't float away easily, and it looks really nice with the occasional plant peaking up out of it. Plants that I have in moist shade include Solomon's seal, ligularia, astilbe, and chelone lyonii. All of them can take standing in water for short periods of time. I don't know of any groundcover.

sturdy ground cover for P. Shade to Full Shade

Comments (6)

chenya_gardener
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tjsangel

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sturdy ground cover for P. Shade to Full Shade

Comments (6)

chenya_gardenerOriginal Author

tjsangel

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waplummer

ego45

mainegrower

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chenya_gardener
Original Author