How much sun is it in? Pachy is really a shade loving groundcover and will always struggle in a lot of sun. It will really do best in part to full shade (especially afternoon shade).

I'm not sure how easy it is to locate or grow in NC but one of my preferred groundcovers for a slope is creeping raspberry, Rubus calycinoides/R. hayata-koidzumii (aka Taiwan creeper). Evergreen, low growing with a flowing, layered growth habit well suited to a slope, tolerates both sun and shade and is drought tolerant once established. No real thorns like other brambles but stems are quite bristly yet it is easy to work with and weed around.

And because it tends to grow in a layering habit, I find it to be extremely effective at weed suppression......probably the best groundcover I have worked with for that purpose.

There is always Liriope spicata :-)

Show the slope including its surroundings, so we can get an idea of the environment.

I think the probably is that part of the yard gets full sun except at night! So I'd probably have to get a ground cover that can thrive like that. Would Liriope work? I can't imagine what the removal and replanting process might be like...

Yes, that is way too much sun for pachy!! Look for something that will be more sun tolerant. Either the rubus or the liriope would work.

Check this link, although not evergreen it would work well in this location:

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=b960

Ceratostigma General Information

Ceratostigma make a good tight groundcover - true blue flowers. Long blooming. Leaving old foliage uncut until spring helps the plant to winter over better. Will need protection in northern sites. Best in morning sun and afternoon shade.

Ceratostigma Plant Care

Follow a regular watering schedule to establish a deep, extensive root system in the first year. Plants are late to emerge in the spring so wait until leaves form to clean up dead stems. Can be divided in spring as needed to maintain boundaries. Weed control is important until plants are established.

other ideas:

Any tips on how to go about removing what I have and getting the new stuff installed?

Just dig out the existing plant material and replant! Requires some time and effort on your part but then most gardening does :-) You could opt to use a herbicide but that is not going to be any faster and you will still need to remove the old, dead plant material before planting something new.

btw, if you want minimize maintenance and weeds, stick to evergreen groundcovers.

I have purchased boxwood as small quarts, planted them tight and pruned to maintain them at about 8-12" in height, looks real nice for an evergreen slope. euonymus coloratus is evergreen, likes full sun and tolerates a dry slope once established, have to watch it for a pest called euonymus scale. Liriope is super aggressive and will grow there but is not evergreen. Would also look nice to add a short natural stone retaining wall along the walkway to keep soil from washing down the slope. Then you might have some different options with a more level planting bed.

Other than in very northerly zones, Liriope spicata is most definitely evergreen!!

Boxwood is not a groundcover and will not spread, so one would need to plant very densely (read expensive) to get a consistant, full coverage. Plus, boxwood is increasingly susceptible to boxwood blight in many parts of the country. And the euonymus is an invasive species in many areas, including North Carolina!

There are of course many other groundcovering, slope stabilizing possibilities. Just check with local sources as to what might work best with minimal maintenance in your specific area.

On that slope you could use dwarf yaupon holly as a replacement for boxwood.

Or Lonicera pileata, Ilex crenata 'Helleri', Cotoneaster dammeri, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, various low growing junipers, candytuft (Iberis sempervirens). The list is long :-)

The Creeping Raspberry is a nice groundcover. In my zone 6 it is not reliably evergreen though. I would be loathe to replace the pachysandra when it looks so close to full coverage. How about planting some small ornamental trees out front to put some shade on the pachysandra.

personnaly, I would kill the pachy with herbicide before digging it out. I once dug up some groundcover that I thought was wrong type, after replanting with another, the "wrong" groundcover resprouted from all the root bits that were left behind in the dig. Later, it completely took over. The ending is not bad, though, as it turned out not to be so wrong a plant after all. But I learned I could not get rid of it without killing first. I don't know how pachy would behave in similar circumstances. BTW, if you kill without digging, then you do not need to disturb the slope or do all the digging work. Just kill, wait, and replant. Also, in my experience, when killing with herbicide, there is usually some resprouting that occurs after a few weeks, making a second herbicide treatment necessary. If you have the time to wait and see, it could save having to go into a new planting later and dig out rogues that refused to die first time around.

IME, pachy, like English ivy, does not respond well to a topical herbicide like RoundUp. The glossy leaf cuticle makes penetration of the herbicide into the leaf tissue (and then to the roots) difficult. There are some adjuvants available that can assist with this but unsure how readily available to homeowners they may be.

Generally with plants that have this characteristic, it is often suggested to mow off the tops/leaf growth, leaving just stems showing and then spray or paint the herbicide on the cut stems directly.

How about leaving the pachysandra and adding some trees or shrubs to provide the shade thst will let them thrive? We all do this after losing s tree or shrub that has provided shade for other plants. Replace the shade not the established (and potentially very attractive) groundcover.

Ideas using short shrubs that will hide any weeds:

If Round-Up doesn't kill this plant, then I'd try herbicide with 2,4-d ... such as Weed-B-Gone. If that doesn't do it, surely there are others. Maybe here or on another forum, someone knows best one.

I would NOT plant a shrub mass on the hill in lieu of a groundcover. Those are much more work to take care of than plants that are self-limiting in their height.

If you use Low shrubs, they are NOT more work than groundcover & are self limiting in height. They are simply a taller groundcover in this application.

there are some points to remember about caring for pachysandra that I read on agreenhand site:

- regular watering

- use a handful of fertilizer for every 4 square feet

- spread a 2 to 4-inch layer of wood chips or dried grass clippings to control weeds and reduces soil moisture loss

Or, change the conditions to what Pachy likes.