Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Monday - April 20, 2015

From: Sunbury, NC
Region: Southeast
Topic: Groundcovers, Herbs/Forbs, Shrubs, Vines, Wildflowers
Title: Evergreen groundcovers for NE NC
Answered by: Anne Van Nest

QUESTION:

Can you please provide a list of evergreen native groundcovers for Northeastern NC?

ANSWER:

Let’s start first by looking at a list of native plants for North Carolina that are evergreens. Take a look at the Native Plant Database on the www.wildflower.org website and put in the following search criteria: State = NC, habit = herb (herbaceous), duration = perennial, leaf retention = evergreen, height = 0-1 feet. Then select the height and light exposure that you have. This will generate a list of herbaceous plants to begin narrowing down. These plants are those that grow in North Carolina. The Native Plant Database can’t fine tune the search to NE NC. Follow this search by changing the height to include 1-3 feet if you want taller plants. Also look at evergreen shrubs and vines as possible groundcovers too. Some of the native evergreen plants for NC are illustrated below. Follow the links to the plant pages for more information.

Also the NC Native Plant Society have a list of groundcovers on their website.