Lamium will grow under tree canopies and fill in around taller perennials, tolerating some dryness from the roots of other plants, but it grows better with irrigation. Susan Martin is a lifelong gardener who enjoys sharing her passion for plants, gardening and the business of horticulture with fellow plant enthusiasts across North America. English ivy is considered an evergreen perennial covering, period. Grow Morning Glory and Moon Flower Together, How to Grow Tulip Flowers like a Jeweled Crown, How to Care and Grow Perennial Iris Flowers, Caleana major Commonly Known as the Large Duck Orchid, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (cacatua galerita), Types of Osprey Calls A Guide to Understanding Osprey Communication, Miletus Ancient Theater A Significant Historical Site in Aydin, Strategic Business Planning: Setting Your Company Up for Success, Five College and University Tips for Students to Get Through a Tough Class. When planted in groups, heuchera works well as a ground cover or along garden edging. 16 inches apart for coverage in two seasons. RELATED: The 15 Best Plants for Rookie Gardeners. Plant it with an assortment of flowering plants, including paperwhites, cyclamen, and coral bells. Will ruellia make a good ground cover? Plant number: 1.305.190. Lamium is a versatile plant, hardy in U.S.D.A. .css-1byi7p4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#125C68;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#fff;-webkit-transition:background 0.3s ease-in-out,color 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:background 0.3s ease-in-out,color 0.3s ease-in-out;display:inline-block;background-color:#000000;border-radius:0.125rem;font-family:NeutraDisplay,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.79054rem;line-height:1;font-weight:bold;height:unset;letter-spacing:0.05rem;padding:0.6rem 1rem;text-transform:uppercase;width:auto;}.css-1byi7p4:hover{color:#000;text-decoration-color:#595959;background-color:#53c2be;}.css-1byi7p4:focus-visible{outline-color:body-cta-btn-link-focus;}SHOP LILY OF THE VALLEY. RELATED: 10 Grass-Free Alternatives to a Traditional Lawn. A Texas Master Gardener, she's the author of The Texas Flower Garden, published by Gibbs-Smith in 1996. There are almost endless varieties of hostas that will fit your needs, many with variegated leaves and spikey short-lived and unremarkable flowers. The opposite leaves are silvery green with large silver blotches on the upper surface, lightening up a dark shady area. 30. Lamium (Dead Nettle) is a trailing, groundcover perennial. It prefers moist ground, drought-tolerant once established, and needs full shade. Using several ground covers can add variety to the landscape and prevent soil erosion. We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. Here's how: While they can self-seed themselves, spotted dead nettles do not do well if you try to grow them from seed. Check with your local county extension for any warnings that they may issue for your own region. It is mainly grown for beautiful berries that succeed the blossoms over green leaves. Because the common name is often given as "spotted dead nettle". It prefers full sun. Try some honeysuckle! Cut them to the height you prefer them to be and thin them out if they're getting too thick by cutting some of the branches throughout the plant back to the ground. It tucks into shaded rock gardens and naturalized borders. But in regions where spotted dead nettle is not invasive, it acts as an effective ground cover for deeply shaded areas. Keep in mind that smaller containers will require watering more often. This species of plumbago is cold hardy to USDA Zone 5, but will survive winter better if you cover it with a light mulch, or if theres snow cover. This is great if you need to cover a problem area with an attractive ground cover, but not so good if you are trying to grow them in a place where you need a well-behaved plant. Choose native common yarrow. Ice plant is a perennial succulent ground cover with fleshy leaves and colorful flowers. Under even the most unforgiving of conditions, lamium prevails. RELATED: 30 Plants for Your Easiest Garden Ever. It grows in little clumps, likes moist soil, and prefers full to part sun. This ground cover forms a low-growing carpet that spreads quickly as its stems root when they touch the ground. I simply pick the seedlings if they pop up where I don't want them. There are also several cultivars (all cold-hardy to at least zone 4, most 3 to 12 inches tall, and all wanting the sun/soil conditions of the species plant) of L.maculatum, including: While dead nettle plants areflowering perennials,stinging nettles, by contrast,arenoxious weeds(but edible when properly prepared). Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, 25 Plants That Survive With or Without You, 14 of the Best Plants for Your Drought-Tolerant Garden, 10 Grass-Free Alternatives to a Traditional Lawn, Bad Neighbors: 11 Plant Pairs Never to Grow Side by Side. Our native white wood aster (Aster divaricatus), which grows in USDA Zones 3 through 8, spreads underground and by seed to form dense colonies even in dry shade conditions. wide. Lamium Excellent Ground Cover for Shade. RELATED: How to Grow Zinnias in Your Home Garden. If you prefer a small hosta, opt for 'Blue Mouse Ears' that grows 6 to 12 inches high with round, heart-shaped blue-green leaves. Good news. The low-lying, flowering ground coverit grows no more than 4 inches tallcan endure being stepped and stomped on, making it a smart choice for planting between pavers or for replacing grass. The low-lying, flowering ground coverit grows no more than 4 inches tallcan endure being stepped and stomped on, making it a smart choice for planting between pavers or for replacing grass entirely. What plant labels typically fail to mention is that, under the right growing conditions, 'Amethyst in Snow' makes a flowering ground cover that will spread nicely. Pachysandra are aggressive and fast-spreading coverings that grow underground with runners. Plant liriope any time for quick growth and spreading. This deer-resistant succulent ground cover has needle-shaped leaves and small but bright daisy-like flowers that carpet the plants from late spring through early fall. Cutting the stems or pinching back to a joint will stimulate new growth for the plant. It offers similar value and requires similar conditions. I've never tried that one. Lamium maculatum: Also called spotted deadnettle, forms a dense mat over. Pachysandra is one of the most widely used ground covers in the country thanks to its extreme durability while it grows under challenging conditions such as too much shade and drought. This tenacious perennial spreads rapidly, thrives in full sun, is cold hardy, grows in poor soil, and is drought tolerant once established. This vining plant, also known as dead nettles, can tolerate cold, heat, and drought, and its deer resistant. It can be excellent for covering large areas of difficult terrain, such as slopes where growing grass would be difficult or impossible. Basket of Gold also goes by the name yellow alyssum, another reference to its adorable clusters of bright yellow flowers. This plant forms a ground-hugging mat topped with wispy white flowers that flutter atop 15-inch-tall stems in late spring to early summer. The 25 low-maintenance ground cover plants in this list are vigorous (some more than others) but manageable, so they will fill in empty spaces without growing out-of-control. It spreads by seed, but not aggressively, making its way around the garden in light shade to full shade conditions in USDA Zones 3 through 8. Lamium covers well and adds colorful flowers, foliage and texture. Rock cotoneaster is considered a full-shun shrub but benefits from some afternoon shade. See this plant in the following landscapes: Wild Side- A Shady Garden Cultivars / Varieties: 'Album' This plant thrives in wet soils, which is why planting it in dry soil and denying it water helps keep it in check. Spotted dead nettles propagate easily by themselves from runners, by dividing, or from cuttings. Creeping Raspberry is a wonderful and attractive ground cover that is naturally hardy, resilient, and adaptable. This fast-growing annual looks gorgeous tumbling over rock walls or along the edges of walkways. It spreads well, but is easy to manage. So long as the site affords full sun and good drainage, creeping phlox requires next to nothing in the way of care. Hostas are some of the happiest and hardiest perennial ground coverings you can grow. Nepeta x faassenii is one such species that makes for a good ground cover, since it is one of the best ground coverings to stop weeds. It needs full sun to bloom best. Instead, it keeps its leathery dark green leaves in nearly the same condition year round. These creeping ground cover plants will reward you with easy care and bright colors. Firecracker Sedum ( Sedum) When grown as a ground cover, it is an easy-care plant that requires little maintenance. 6. Check your plants regularly and if slugs or snails are present, handpick and dispose of them as they appear. It likes part to full sun. Flowering Plants for Bare Garden Spots - Ground Cover Dogwood. Take leaves off at least half of the bottom portion of the branch. In warm regions and/or insheltered areas of your yard, they may be evergreen. Interrupted fern, like bunchberry and liverleaf, is a North American native that can serve as a low-maintenance ground cover for shade. If it grows outside its pounds, trim it off or transplant a branch. Mow it down once in late winter and watch the fresh green growth fill right back in. Its variegated leaves and colorful spring flowers make Lamium a reliable choice for brightening shady garden spots where few other perennials will grow. This is a slow-growing and long-lasting ground cover that simply needs pruning every so often to prevent it from growing leggy. The little silver leaves of lamium are like bits of glitter strewn about the garden floor, reflecting any dappled sunlight that finds them. It matures to a height of about 3 feet, and it, too, can be used as a taller ground cover. It prefers shade, but will tolerate some sun. Equally at home hanging from a planter or covering a hillside, Lysimachia (more commonly known as creeping Jenny) is a plant admired for its trailing branches. Yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon 'Hermann's Pride', Zones 4-8) is one of the fastest-growing ground covers. It can cover large areas if you let it, so take care to find a place where its spreading tendency will be welcomed. They're also popular ground covers used to stop soil erosion. At the time of this publication, there were 30 cultivars of L. maculatumlisted in the RHS Plant Finder, compared to 11 cultivars for all the other species combined. It is a woodland plant that requires good drainage and shade. 14. You may not have thought of using an onion as a ground cover, but doing so has some important advantages. Yellow archangel, also known as yellow Lamium, is very competitive and fast-growing in the forest habitats of western Washington and western British Columbia. Creeping phlox is a short plant often seen covering the side of a hill or retaining wall with colorful spring flowers. Check out these favorite ground covers that will require little effort on your part once you plant them. Please keep reading to learn about this plant with a cautionary tale. The unusual common name of "dead nettles" alludes to the fact that, while it resembles stinging nettles, the stingers are dead on L. maculatum, rendering it harmless. Subscribe now and be up to date with our latest news and updates. Learn tips for creating your most beautiful home and garden ever.