It all depends on your zone. I'm near San Jose, CA. What works in Wisconsin is different from Alabama. Where are you? The peeps nearby can respond. Put your state or zone next to your name and that would help immensely!

-Babka

Hi, Keswick...I do have some hostas planted with Creeping Jenny, and I also like its look, but after growing hostas since 2012 with CJ working as the groundcover, I have to think it's definitely inhibiting their size in the long run. Sucks water like a camel! I like sweet woodruff as well.

Lamium has become my favorite ground cover, I absolutely love it, it's beautiful, and it's hosta-friendly. Purple Dragon is my favorite. After a season or two of getting established, the leaf variegation is sublime and the plant blooms lovely, purple flowers throughout spring, summer and fall. I'm actually getting an astilbe or two and see if they can work for my backyard. We'll see!

I love Japanese Painted Ferns and Lady Ferns - much less invasive than ostrich ferns. Brunnera, Corydalis, and perennial geranium are great, too. Woodland poppy is a native that does well for me. For those hostas that endure more sun, you have lots of options. Here are a few pics from my yard to give some ideas...

Dictamnus 'Gas Plant' with 'Dancing Queen' - (6 hrs. sun)

Brunnera 'Jack Frost' and Japanese Painted Fern in front of 'Abigua Drinking Gourd' (Full shade)

Japanese Painted Fern with 'Emerald Tiara' (Full shade)

Perennial Geranium with 'Remember Me' (Full shade)

Babka, I am in Southern Ontario, Canada, on the shores of Lake Simcoe. The climate and zone, I understand, is almost identical to Wisconsin (although I believe that Wisconsin gets more reliable snow cover in winter).

Don in Colorado - do you have any concerns about the Lamium running where you don't want it to? I had lamium difficulties early in my gardening career. One of the things I really like about Sweet woodruff is that is so shallow rooted and can be removed relatively easily if it tries to run away with itself.

Friends garden party - I like your suggestions, but I am not sure I understand your corydalis suggestion. I have red and purple corydalis in my garden that spring up everywhere (they are from corms or bulbs) in the spring, bloom beautifully and then disappear by mid June, July at the very latest. They would not amount to groundcover.... I also have a yellow variety that does not disappear, but it also does not suggest by it growth in my garden that it could ever really act as a groundcover. Of what corydalis are you speaking?

Astilbe Chinensis Pumila is a great ground over with hostas. I also grow Canada ginger, Barren Strawberry, Ladyslippers, Celandine Poppy, Virginia Bluebells and Solomon Seal in my shady hosta bed. Heuchera, Pulmonaria, Brunnera, Japanese Painted Fern and Lady Fern as well. Ostrich Fern I'm always digging out because it's too aggressive. I have Uvularia, Bloodroot and Hepatica on my list to try as well. Was tempted by a Double Bloodroot this spring but it was a bit too pricey!

Corydalis lutea is the yellow one and it spreads well by reseeding here in Wisconsin - perhaps it depends on your soil type. I also have Fern Leaf Bleeding Heart which reseeds itself readily and could work for you, too. That blooms a long time. My perennial geranium spreads a lot by seed and I find myself pulling it out frequently, so consider that one.

Friends Garden Party - My experience here has been that perennial geranium does not flower well in shade and tends to get straggly as if it is reaching for the sun. I do have the fern leaf Dicentra, and I would love to use it, but again, while it appears dutifully each year and has increased marginally in size over the five or six year that it has been there, it does not give the slightest indication of "spreading" or acting as a ground cover. Maybe I don't water enough.

Debbiecz3 - About 4 years ago, I bought a sad looking piece of a double bloodroot that someone had divided, and had donated for sale to our garden club's annual sale. I asked about it and was given very detailed instructions about how to plant it, and where (in the moist, shady area to the north of my garden shed, that was quite dark, moist, and only got sun in the late afternoon). I planted it there, and, when it emerged the following spring, it had a couple of flowers and was without question one of the most stunning things I had ever seen. It has spread until now I get about 20 or so flowers every spring. It is a delicate, beautiful thing, that hardly anyone ever sees because of where it is located. There are no hostas in the little bed where it is growing (there are some trillium, a fern and some jack-in the pulpit. I have toyed every year with the thought of putting some of this bloodroot in one of the beds where hostas are growing but I have been afraid to move it or disturb it for the purpose of division (although I read recently that I have to or it will begin to die out). I may, as a result of your post, move a piece of it into one of the hosta beds to see what happens.

Last year, I bought a good size chunk of uvularia, which I really like, but again, am paranoid about moving or disturbing. Its kind of on the outskirts of a hosta bed, but I would like to see it amongst them, if I could bring myself to disturb it. Is there anyone out there who has done this with bloodroot and /or uvularia who can offer some assurance to me that it would not be foolhardy to do this? These are not plants that one can easily access (at least not in these parts)

I love Virgina bluebells (the flowers and their colour) and was able to buy a single plant last year. I think I may have lost it after it bloomed this year, and I have no idea where I would get more of it here.

I will try the Canada ginger idea.

I used to plant flats of shade loving impatiens (annuals) to fill in space and add a touch of colour amongst the hostas, and I really like the look of this, but since the impatiens were taken off the market, the need for a strategy to replace them has been obvious to me. I am not a lover of too much bare ground in a bed

Keep the ideas coming, and thanks!

I can understand your reluctance in dividing your special plants! Your double bloodroot sounds beautiful. Would love to see a pic. In my trusty Larry Hodgson's book on shade, he recommends dividing and moving bloodroot just after it blooms. He says to dig up the plants while still in leaf, cut the rhizomes into sections with at least one leaf or bud and replant without delay.

in regards to the Uvularia he says that once the young plants develop a clump they will slowly spread out by rhizomes to fill empty spaces in the garden. He recommends fall division.

Virginia Bluebells will go dormant after blooming so you may not have lost it. They are slow spreaders.

Hopefully someone has some practical experience and can give you advice. Good luck.

Dose anyone have experience with European Ginger?

The best I could do at this point is a picture of the bloodroot foliage at this point. I was not a picture taker until recently, so I have no picture of it in bloom, unless I can get one from one of my friends who have photographed it. I will make sure to post a picture when it is fully in bloom next spring, assuming that either I haven't disturbed it or I have with bad results. I am not sure how well received a picture of bloodroot would be in the hosta forum.

I will take a picture of it now, if the leaves are even still visible, but it doesn't amount to much (in my opinion) when not in flower.

Thanks for the information, I am glad to hear there is still hope for the Virginia Bluebells.

I have same size companion plants like astilbes of various colors, bloodroot, rows of primula, pulmonaria, echinacia (just flowering profusely). When you do not watch them, they will push into the hostas, so need to cut them back occasionally. I no longer use groundcovers, because when established they will encroach severely into the hostas. Groundcovers also hide slugs and voles, and by that harm hostas. I just somewhat finished a fight against voles - how would you know that there are vole holes or they run under the groundcover, except when the hostas start shrinking due to voles eating them?

You are supposed to avoid having anything under hostas which could be used by slugs as a hiding place.

Good point, but I have never had a major problem with voles. Slugs... on the other hand,,, maybe that explains why many of my hostas start to look like swiss cheese by August.

debbiecz3 - here's a picture of the bloodroot foliage as it looks today. It would probable contrast nicely with hostas if it stayed alive.

Keswick, I've had no issues with the lamium, it's been easy for me to control.

I have a yellow flowering lamium which stays at its place, but another one with red-purple flowers creeps everywhere, even up rhodos, is free-seeding and has a large footprint. The creepy lamium I rip out whenever I have nothing better to do.

I use Pulmonaria as temporary ground cover until hostas mature. I then pull it out. It spreads readily via seeds and may become a nuisance. Bethlehem Sage is shown in the lower left of the photo.

sunnywood - European Ginger grows okay for me although it spreads very slowly and is sometimes subject to mildew.

I have received great ideas. Thank you all so much.

Peren.all - I have never noticed any seed pods, but I intend to look now because I would love to have some way to get more of it. It is very subtly striking.

Squirejohn - the idea of using pulmonaria surprised me. My pulmonaria doesn't show the slightest inclination to act as a ground coverer. It does quite well where I put it, but really goes nowhere other than the (very) occasional seedling.

And I am just not convinced that I am ready to try lamium again after my earlier experience.

P.S. Squire john - I love the look of your hostas under the tree with the pulmonaria.

Thanks for the comment keswick-sniders. My Pulmonaria (P saccharata), common lungwort, reseeds everywhere, even in the woods where I've thrown discarded plants. Perhaps yours is one of the newer cultivars. Several years ago I bought P longifolia (Bertram Anderson) that withered away and finally died.

John vt

Squire, I also have a Bertram Anderson - in its 6th year and doing very well amongst the hostas. BA has thicker, narrower, long leaves. It was developed to withstand more sun...which it does here from sunrise to around 1:30. I've pulled out some of my common pulmonarias (but I'll never want to be without one) but this one is definitely a keeper! Just the fact that it is impervious to wilting won me over! :-)

Did you get a chance to enjoy it for a few years before it withered and died?

When I grew L. Herman's Pride (yellow flower spires) it was the best behaved lamium also... more compact and didn't behave like a rambling groundcover. Rambling or not, lamium is wonderful...sort of like sweet woodruff - shallow roots that are easily pulled. I sprinkle slug pellets right into the groundcover where slugs may be hiding. :)