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Wednesday - July 23, 2008
From: Middletown, NJ
Region: Northeast
Topic: Groundcovers
Title: Groundcover for sunny yard in New Jersey
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Hi. I'm looking for ground cover for a mostly sunny section of my yard. The ground we are looking to cover is next to a slight hill with in a few feet of an in ground pool. I would like something that grows short, maybe a few inches, that also has a thick root system to keep the top soil in place. ThanksANSWER:
Grasses and sedges are excellent in holding top soil in place because of their fibrous root systems. The grasses listed below are not low-growing, but they are ornamental and clumping. You could perhaps use some of them in association with other groundcover plants. The sedges are shorter than the grasses and evergreen or semi-evergreen. The Christmas fern grows up to two feet high, but the remainder of the plants are low-growing.Chasmanthium latifolium (Inland sea oats) shade, part shade
Deschampsia caespitosa (tufted hairgrass) part shade
Elymus canadensis (Canada wildrye) shade, part shade, sun
Muhlenbergia capillaris (hairawn muhly) sun
Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem) part shade, sun
Carex blanda (eastern woodland sedge) shade, part shade, sun and evergreen
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge) shade, part shade, sun and semi-evergreen
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper) shade, part shade, sun
Phlox subulata (moss phlox) shade, part shade, sun and evergreen
Gaultheria procumbens (eastern teaberry) shade, part shade and evergreen
Mitchella repens (partridgeberry) shade, part shade and evergreen
Claytonia virginica (Virginia springbeauty) part shade
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