Whatever you decide to do, get the weeds out and mulch the area well with wood chips. Then plant. The weeds you have are what is locally called Peppergrass. The seeds when formed fly out of the plant when it's touched. It's extremely invasive, and since it's in bloom now, it will only be a week or so before seeds are formed. Weed now.

Hmmm,.......the weed showing looks to me to be Cardamine hisuta, also known as 'shotweed', due to its ability to 'shoot' its ripe seeds out over a considerable distance. Different weed but with similar, widely spreading properties. I agree that you need to weed thoroughly before attempting to plant anything else in this area. And mulching well after planting will help to keep weeds down while the groundcovers fill in. Since this is a very visible aspect of your garden, right by the entry, I would not consider planting anything that wasn't evergreen, groundcover or not. If not an evergreen covering (or a grouping of low spreading evergreen plants) you will always be facing this bare weedy mess during the off season. Not a welcoming look by an entry area.

Thanks Gardengal your post was very informative. So what would you do kill everything and start new or keep what is there and pull the weeds out? Yes there is a tree in front of the house that blocks some sun but it does get a lot of sunlight. Is there a type of groundcover that you'd recommend for the sun? Thanks I really appreciate your help and insights.

Hi lacyvail. Thanks for your suggestion and information. I was originally inspired by this article http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20052304,00.html in which they start with peat moss, then they add a low nitrogen fertilizer and end with bark mulch. Would you recommend doing that? The only thing that I didn't quite understand about the mulch is, wouldn't that prevent plants from growing in the area where the mulch is and affect the roots?

Finally do the Peppergrass weeds have white bulbs? I'm thinking I may have mistaken some as what I had planted which had white bulbs. Thanks

Peat moss is not a very good thing to put over soil. When it dries out, it's nearly impossible to get it wet again. Never use it as a mulch. I would weed, mulch with wood chips and plant your groundcovers in the mulch, perhaps a foot to a foot and a half apart. They will move into and over the mulch.

Gardengal's suggestion for evergreen groundcovers and/or low spreading evergreens is good to keep in mind. (And if you choose evergreens, make sure they are a variety that is not going to outgrow the spot in 5 years.)

And Gardengal, thanks for giving me the botanical name of what we call here peppergrass.

Thanks laceyvail. Is most of what you see in the picture actually weeds besides the two lamium white Nancy plants that are low and were there since I planted them.

Hmm, maybe something like Irish moss? Also blue star creeper and thyme look nice.

Yes, 99% of what are showing up in your photos are weeds. That's not to say that the LOV and sweet woodruff are not present, just not yet showing up above ground. I would be looking for something that had a bit more substance to it than just a flattish groundcover.........something like candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) or sun rose (Helianthemum nummularia). Both are completely evergreen and both will tolerate full sun as well as part shade.

Even heaths and heathers - if appropriate to your location - would be a better solution to this area than just groundcovers.

Hi gardengal.

Thank you. I like the candytuft flowers, but maybe heaths and heathers would be better there since they are full of color and foliage and can tolerate tough weather conditions - even the snow. I am in zone 6a (northeastern Rhode Island).

I like this heaths and heathers landscape: http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1863363/heaths-and-heathers-for-ken and maybe alba rigida would go look nice there.

For planting heathers and heaths would you use mulch underneath? And with those plants you can mix and match and they will mound together?

Thanks!

Scott

Well, heaths and heathers are only a small aspect of that landscape - confers take the center stage :-)

I mulch everything I plant. Keeps the weeds to a minimum, feeds the soil and helps prevent evaporation of soil moisture. Both the ericas and callunas need acidic soil, lots of sun and regular watering for at least their first year in the ground. And yes, they will all mound together but different types have different sizes and growth habits so be sure you select compatible varieties.

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Hi Gardengal,

I ended up purchasing a collection of heath and heathers from White Flower Farm at http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/80230-product.html. I just ran a ph soil test and it is very acidic some places are 4 other spots are 1-2 and the soil is moist.

May I ask if you don't mind, should I mix limestone or anything else in there because the soil is acidic? The directions say to add peat moss but because the soil is acidic do I not need that? Finally when do you usually mix the mulch in there as one thing I read on heathers said not to let mulch interfere with the roots?

I am in Rhode Island and we just had some snow drifts only a week ago but forecast doesn't show any snow, should I go ahead and plant these ASAP?

Thank you!

Hi,

Thanks for the suggestion I ended up planting some heath and heather plants and surrounded them with mulch. When I planted them I planted them with peat moss especially because the soil was alkaline. It has been a few weeks however and I did a soil test using an electronic ph meter and it is still showing between 7 & 8. Is there anything I can do now (the flowers are already growing) to make the soil more acidic such as adding more peat moss around the flowers?

Thanks.

Scott

Scott, I'd be a bit suspicious about the accuracy of your pH meter. Most of the soils in Rhode Island are classified as very strongly acidic (pH of 4.5 - 5.0) or strongly acidic (pH 5.0 - 5.5). ....unless they have been limed. Which should be perfectly adequate for heaths and heathers. Just keep them properly watered this season. While heaths and heathers are quite drought tolerant once established, they cannot be allowed to dry out during the establishment period.

I'd suggest maybe using a testing kit for your pH reading, available inexpensively at most nurseries and garden centers. You only need to use it with distilled - not tap - water. Or take a sample to your local extension office - they should be able to do a quick and dirty pH test for you.

Hi GardenGal,

I was thinking the same thing, but I thought it might still be in the same ballpark. I do have a Rapitest soil test kit that I'm going to use to test again. Luckily we've had plenty of rain so far in May (more than in April) day after day after day here in Rhode Island. Thanks

Scott

Hi,

This summer I planted about 12 heathers. They have started to grow but I thought they would have grown a lot more by now. I have tried my best to water them at least twice a week and we've had some occasional rain. There are a couple of heathers that show small purple buds but a couple of days ago I noticed they were gone from one of them. The lack of growth and flower bud disappearing concerns me along with the fact that they are growing very slow. Any ideas?

The groundcover bed also quickly gets covered in weeds (particularly along the perimeter) and I have to remove them quite often despite using bark mulch. When I planted the heathers I planted peat moss under them but I didn't plant peat moss over the whole bed. Should I have done that to keep weeds out and should I plant peat moss below the mulch where the weeds keep growing?

Finally is there anything that you'd recommend to help the heathers grow such as fertilizer. Although I just read a bh article saying that you shouldn't use fertilizer on heathers. I'm not sure because I'd expect better growth at this point. The soil is very acidic. I am attaching some recent pictures. Thanks!

I dig a shallow ditch next to sidewalks and then fill with mulch. The extra soil goes in the middle of the bed to give it a bit of a mounded look. Flat doesn't look as good. Mounding gives it 'presence'. Works for lawns too.

As I said earlier, peat moss is a very poor choice to use as a mulch, whether it's covered by bark or not. Once it dries out it's nearly impossible to wet again and it keeps water from easily penetrating the soil underneath. If you need to acidify soil, soil sulfur is your best choice.

Despite the zone compatibility, here in WV, heaths and heathers are very poor choices because the winters are often too cold and without snow cover. In almost any exposure where there is any wind at all, they die. I had no luck whatsoever in any part of my quite protected yard, and finally gave up.

To reduce weeds I plant heather on individual mounds in drifts. The mulch is deeper between them thus keeping the weeds down. Heather needs good drainage during the winter and regular water in the summer until fully established.

I don't find the need for peat moss, but if used it should be thoroughly mixed in with the topsoil.

Avoid planting close to hardscape. Heathers, once established, spread relentlessly, and you want as little maintenance as possible by having to trim them back on the edges. They should also be lightly trimmed just after blossoming to remain tight, otherwise they can get rather thin in the center and give weeds an opportunity to grow.