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Ground Cover Plants

Ground cover plants are low-growing, fast-spreading plants that can quickly form a dense ground cover. Whether a substitute for grass or a method of preventing soil erosion, ground cover plants have a variety of uses. Although grass is the most common ground cover plant, a number of ground covers can function better in areas not well suited for grass.

Types of Ground Cover Plants

Most ground covers are not intended to be walked upon and may limit traffic in the areas where they're planted. You might recognize some of the most popular ground cover plants:

English Ivy is a fast-growing landscape plant that is harmless to trees and can vary in size and color.
Cast Iron Plants are large, coarse-textured evergreens that don't do well in cold climates.
Periwinkle is a fast-growing evergreen with vibrant blue flowers. It's recommended for large areas, ditch banks or rock gardens.
Moss Phlox is a low, massive, fast-growing evergreen that creeps across the ground. It produces vivid pink blooms in spring and is recommended for rock gardens.

Ground Cover Plant Advantages

Ground cover plants have many advantages for the gardener. Besides serving as an effective method of weed control, ground cover plants have a number of other advantages:

Ground cover plants help to protect soil from water loss and erosion. This is especially useful on steep slopes.
Ground cover plants help keep plants cool in the summer and warm in the winter by acting as insulation.
Ground cover plants provide cover for insects that can help your garden grow.
Ground cover plants are attractive landscaping plants that can add a unique visual element to any garden.

Ground Cover Plant Disadvantages

Ground cover plants are not always welcome garden additions.

Ground cover plants can provide a habitat for garden pests like slugs, snails and grubs.
If ground cover plants grow too large, they can steal water and other nutrients from the plants in your garden.
If ground cover is left unattended, it can take over your garden and kill the plants that you had hoped to grow.

Maintaining Ground Cover Plants

Because ground cover plants grow quickly, maintaining them as part of your landscape can take a great deal of time and effort. While some are low maintenance, many landscape plants require constant attention to keep them from growing out of control. Lawns are one example of ground cover that will get out of control without proper maintenance.

The evergreen variety of ground cover plants does not produce fruit or flowers and, therefore, requires less maintenance then most, making it a popular landscape plant. Evergreen ground cover doesn’t require constant maintenance that other landscape plants may need because it has no flowers or fruit to prune and take care of.

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