We'll help you find the best hardy shade ground cover perennials for your zone. Vinca Minor. See Dozens Of Colorful Ground Covers For Zones 5 & 6 … #ad. Ground Cover Plants. Zone 4 ground covers must be hardy to winter temperatures of -30 to – 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-34 to -28 C.). You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io, We Found the Best Flower Delivery Services, 25 Hard-to-Kill Indoor Plants Anyone Can Own, 8 Changes That Will Up Your Home’s Curb Appeal, How to Keep Your Christmas Cactus Blooming, Stock Tank Pool Ideas to Help You Cool Off. Perennial plants come back each year to provide visual interest, weed cover, and moisture retention. Plants … In spring, tiny white flowers add to its ethereal beauty. The plant forms a low, dense carpet and has an indefinite spread, sometimes spreading too vigorously in warmer gardens. It grows to a maximum height of about 12 inches with an 18-inch spread, and it flowers with white blossoms in spring. Perennial bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) is a member of the mint family that readily naturalizes in zones 3 to 10, growing best in average to moist soil, with full sun to partial shade. When shopping for this plant, be sure to ask for Aurinia saxatilis or yellow allyssum, not sweet alyssum, which is an entirely different species. Asiatic Jasmine (Jasmine minima) This is a low-maintenance ground cover that is easy to care for. It spreads via rhizomes, a trait that can be a double-edged sword. Care requirements for creeping phlox are few. FYI: Full sun means an area gets 6+ hours of direct sunlight per day, part sun is anywhere from 3 to 6 hours of direct sunlight, and full shade is up to 3 hours of sun. Nepeta x faassenia, commonly called nepeta, nepeta catmint, or Faassen's catmint, is one of several perennial catmint plants. It can grow in full sun or partial shade and needs to have well-draining soil. The best evergreen groundcovers for gardens. Read about the best flowering ground covers … Here are 14 ground cover plants that shouldn't try to take over (too much) and don't need a lot of care. Drought-Tolerant Groundcover Plants. You might not think of oregano as a ground cover, but this herb forms dense clumps of scented foliage. This is one of the few creeping plants that prefer moist areas with lots of decomposing organic material. It grows best where it has plenty of space to spread out. Many gardeners prefer not to keep the flowers on the plant when they bloom. Back in 2012, we highlighted four favorite groundcovers: Thyme, wild ginger, ajuga and sweet woodruff.… It is much less noticeable at other times of the year, but that doesn't detract from its role as a spring superstar. https://www.gardenloversclub.com/plant-finder/perennials/ground-cover It needs full sun to bloom best. One of the best ground covers for sunny areas is Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantina). This type of shade-loving perennial ground cover plant produces small flowers in the spring. Since it is a plant that is native to a rocky area, it can be grown in zones three through 11. When not in bloom, the foliage provides an attractive, durable ground cover. Low-growing varieties of sedum make easy-to-care-for ground covers, especially since its fleshy leaves retain enough water to survive dry spells. Gazania Lots of color for long season. Double flowers bloom extremely early. Today, this plant is used for ground cover in shady areas. It likes part to full sun. The best ground covers are low maintenance, stop erosion, cool the soil and beautify the landscape. It will tolerate most growing conditions, but it will do best in full sun, well-drained soil, and little water. It is, therefore, a sterile plant that will not come true from seeds. Straight from your grandma's garden, Dianthus is an old-fashioned perennial with a vanilla-like scent. It does spread under the right conditions, but it is fairly easy to pull it out and keep it from taking over areas where it does not belong. Some gardeners select ground cover plants for their gardens because: foliage and flowers; they suppress weeds; I like them for both reasons! Aronia is a pretty low-growing native shrub that has tiny white flowers amid glossy green foliage. It quickly forms a thick mound and blooms all summer long, producing a sweet honey scent that attracts pollinators throughout the season. In early spring, flowers that look like fairy wings appear on this perennial. Ground cover plants are very useful for areas where minimal maintenance is desired and as an alternative to turf grass. Whatever your shade setting might be from partial shade to full shade or whatever soil type you have from clay to sandy. It doesn’t like wet feet, so make sure the soil is well-drained. It needs full sun to survive. These will be great for erosion control and possibly some other benefits. Moss phlox blooms early in the spring, carpeting the ground with flowers in shades of purple, pink or white. Rock cotoneaster is a deciduous shrub. The horizontally-spreading branches of creeping junipers make a dense mat that weeds can’t penetrate. Another zone 7 evergreen groundcover not to be missed is St. John’s Wort. It prefers moist ground, drought-tolerant once established, and needs full shade. The hot pink blooms of Spanish Shawl make it a popular ground cover in frost-free areas. It grows between six and 18 inches tall, and it has a width of three feet. Use pachysandra to cover deeply shaded ground. It is perfect for a small space, perhaps a little garden along a north-facing wall. There are both woody and herbaceous plant covers from which to choose. This plant offers rich, dark jade foliage and little clusters of white flowers. Always research your plant-selection choices to find out if the plant is invasive in your region or if it will spread too aggressively for your needs. It has excellent resistance to damage by deer and rabbits. Do you have a slope that’s hard to mow? When planted in full sun it usually needs extra watering, at least until the plant is well established. Plant it and ignore it: The plant is about as low-maintenance as you get. It features tiny, fragrant leaves and ... Sedum. It can even thrive in the acidic conditions under large pine trees. When grown as a ground cover, it is an easy-care plant that requires little maintenance. Flowers provide the vital beauty needed to improve your landscape and add color to your garden. Flowering ground cover plants for zone 4 may produce blooms in spring only or may extend throughout summer and even into fall. $11.95. A variety of cultivars are available, including Juniperus horizontalis 'Blue Rug'. This sun-lover grows to a maximum height of about 12 inches with a 24-inch spread, and it blooms with lavender to pink flowers in July. In summer months, little spikes of blue, purple, pink or white flowers will appear. Likes: This ground cover plant prefers dry heat. The leaves give off a fresh scent that makes this ground cover plant a fan favorite. There may be restrictions on planting it in these areas. It prefers shade, but will tolerate some sun. To make sure your ground covers get the job done (ya know, dressing up your landscape), follow the instructions on their plant care tag to give them the right conditions. This is a large plant with a horizontal growth habit (thus its species name). Six choices for holding the soil when grass won’t cut it. Moss rose is an ideal groundcover for those who want an attractive alternative to grass in hot, sunny areas. The nepeta genus includes roughly 250 species. While most are grown for their foliage, many have colorful blooms during part of the year. Groundcover Plants for Shade. Snip some for cooking, or keep it trimmed back to manage its height. The perennial peanut is a plant that will easily replace grass and create an easy to care for ground cover that you will adore. The plant barely grows up to 1-1.5 feet tall and loves the sun. With full sun, this green herb will grow small flowers in summer, attracting plenty of pollinators. Fix your garden’s trouble spots with these low-growing perennials, annuals, and shrubs. Growing conditions: Full sun The fuzzy silver-grey leaves grow to between 2” and 4” (5 – 10 cm) long. There are several types that you can turn depending on your needs. Ground Covers. It grows in little clumps, likes moist soil, and prefers full to part sun. Lawns might be the most popular, but they are not the easiest or best ground cover out there. Medium-Low water needs… Low-growing mats of Creeping Thyme are covered in teeny purple or white flowers in late spring, which makes it a haven for pollinators. It should be pinched back frequently to keep the plants bushy and "shrubby.". Perfect for a low-maintenance garden. It likes full sun, but can tolerate part shade. Looking for ground cover options for your yard? When you buy Centaurea montana 'Amethyst in Snow', you may be thinking of it as an upright perennial plant with attractive flowers. Regular trimmings to keep it from Taking over the yard ( -34 to C.. Big, yellow flowers, horticulture expert at Iowa State University do you have a slope of difficult,... Floral display makes this ground cover perennials for your tastes shade-loving deciduous shrub native to northern portions North. Must not be so vigorous that it will do best in full sun chartreuse leaves and flowers! Sunny areas 4 ground covers … the best types of ground cover for. 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