Native Plants

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Monday - May 25, 2009

From: Holland, IN
Region: Midwest
Topic: Groundcovers
Title: Flowering groundcover for Indiana
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I live in southern Indiana and am looking for a nice flowering groundcover that will overcome the grass. It is on a hill that is very hard to mow.

ANSWER:

Mr. Smarty Plants suggests that you visit our Recommended Species page and select Indiana from the map or the pulldown menu to find a list of more than 160 commercially available native species suitable for landscaping. You can limit that list by the particular characteristics of your site such as "Light Requirement" or "Soil Moisture" by choosing the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option on the right side of the page.

Since I don't know what yours site's particular light and moisture situation is, I picked out a few plants that would serve as groundcover in part shade and dry soils. You can change those criteria to fit your site and find other plants.

Amorpha canescens (leadplant)

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (kinnikinnick)

Coreopsis lanceolata (lanceleaf tickseed)

Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower)

Lupinus perennis (sundial lupine)

Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)

Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot)

Phlox pilosa (downy phlox)

Rudbeckia hirta (blackeyed Susan)