Gardening and Horticulture - groundcover

hi, i have a garden in my side yard it has several lilac bushes and roses and tiger lillys, hyacins,flags and tulips . it is a partial shaded area deoendin upon the time of day and season, i have several tall trees above the area and roots are a problem with planting flowers. i would like a pretty hearty type of ground cover for the base of the flowerbed. any suggestions?

You could try some murtle, or pachysandra, or some type of ivy in your shaded area.

fred

Beware of ivy, it can wrap itself around the lilacs and constrict them.

thanks , are any of these groundcovers flowering ? and when?

I agree with Fred - Myrtle (sometimes also known as Vinca or Periwinkle) will give you a good cover, although it is sometimes slow to establish. If you have a friend with patches of it, you might be able to trade for or have them donate some to your cause. Nurseries tend to sell it in 4" pots or by the flat of (just guessing) a hundred or so plants per flat. They should be planted at least 6" on centre (4" o/c is even better) and you can see how expensive it might get to cover a large area at that spacing.

Have you thought about using a mulch (like wood chips or even clay or stone) to cover the area and plant some shade loving annuals or perennials in the mulch for colour and interest?

Just a thought

Good Luck

Howie

that sounds great i like periwinkle and a cpmbo of some mulch will probably work really well . whats the best time on the east coast for planting this?

Rule of thumb, after the threat of the frost has left...

Around these parts, the May 24th weekend is a safe bet...

Our weather forcasting rodent, Wiarton Willy saw his shadow, so it looks like we're in for another 6 weeks of the cold... What did Phil predict?... ;)

Howie :D

pux phil predicted the same so i guess its gonna wait 6 weeks

After years in NC the old timers rule of planting after Easter was always reliable. That was Zone 7, you need to look at the last frost date for your area to determine when would be best for you.

The Extension office for your county should have a web page and that information on it.

Hi msfixit

Another ground cover that comes in many shapes & colors also some outstanding flowers, are in the Sedum family.

The sedums do well in poor shallow soil & that makes them a natural choice for perenial gardens, around trees as they do well in sun or shade.

I have seen them and their fat water holding leaves live through hot dry Summers left in flats that someone forgot to plant. They come up year after year & provide the other plants with a water holding living mulch.

My Son got on quite a kick once & we must have a few dozen kinds with smooth or fuzzy leaves & all colors of flowers. I have to admit they are unique & don't depleate the soil of food, as I had once feared.

Do a www.google.com search on sedums & see all the shapes & sizes these useful plants come in & where you can buy them. I thin mine in early Summer & give the starts to any of my friends who want some.

I hope that I was of some help in your choices of ground covers, as there are quite a few but only some have the versitile nature as Sedum does.

thanks i have seen sedums before but did not know what they were ill have to check them out