Native Plants

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Monday - June 18, 2007

From: Schaumburg, IL
Region: Midwest
Topic: Groundcovers
Title: Looking for cover
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I live iin Schaumburg, IL and have a difficult spot (extreme sun and heat in summer (South Side of house). I'm looking for a very short ground cover - < or + to 6 inchees. Does Arabis hirsuta fit this requirement?

ANSWER:

We don't have a great deal of information about Arabis hirsuta (hairy rockcress) in our Native Plants Database; but, the information from Plants for a Future and University of Washington indicates that it should work for your site.

Here are a few other suggestions of plants that grow between 6-12 inches high and are native to Illinois:

Carex texensis (Texas sedge)

Heterotheca villosa (hairy false goldenaster)

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (kinnikinnick)

If you are willing to have a slightly taller ground cover for a hot sunny location, you might consider Artemisia frigida (prairie sagewort) or Artemisia ludoviciana (white sagebrush).