7 Super Perennial Groundcovers for Sun, Shade, and More
Whether they’re growing under featured plants, in sun or shade, with one another, or all by themselves, these can’t-miss little plants have got you (and the naked ground in your garden) covered. Read on to meet my garden’s 7 super perennial groundcovers for sun, shade, and more.
With spring finally here (sort of), and summer literally just around the corner, now is a great time to take stock of what’s happening in your garden and to get a planting strategy going. After a whole winter’s worth of cold-imposed garden avoidance, there’s a good chance that you’re going to be looking at your garden with a fresh pair of eyes. And you might notice that there’s been a few casualties among your kingdom plantae ranks. Or maybe you now see that the little section out there that seemed sort of “iffy” to you last summer can now definitely use a little je ne sais quoi. Or the spot under your magnolia looks sparse. Or a few nasty weeds are trying to take root in an open expanse in one of your planting beds. Bottom line: now you’ve got some ground to cover. The solution? You got it: groundcover plants.
Groundcover plants, or simply “groundcovers” or “groundcover,” are a great solution for any of the above situations, plus a whole bunch more. They’re generally much easier to care for than featured plants, and they do exactly what their description advertises – they cover the ground. They’re frequently at home in sun or shade, they’re often drought-tolerant, many are not whatsoever choosy about the soil they’re growing in, and some can handle being stepped on and walked over. Definitely some versatile and tough little plants.
Right here, I’ll offer a quick note about the criteria I use to distinguish a groundcover plant from a featured plant (at least for the purposes of this article). Although I’ve got loads of plants growing in my zone 5B/6A garden which would serve beautifully as groundcover (pulmonaria, heuchera, and liriope, to name a few), I’m considering these accent plants rather than groundcover. Each of these plants packs enough visual punch to be grown in singular fashion, rather than en masse. And these tend to grow taller than what I’d consider a good groundcover height – my height requirement for groundcover plants in my garden is 12″ or less. These criteria are admittedly arbitrary, but I believe they provide a good jumping off point for entertaining a discussion about perennial groundcover.
I’ve got a bunch of different groundcover plants doing their thing in my garden, and I love all of them. But I narrowed my list down (with some difficulty) to my seven favorites. And how did I arrive at these seven? I used a list of criteria that I considered important in assigning each plant’s merit as a groundcover for my garden. I didn’t assign a numerical score for each of these criteria, just a rating of “excellent,” “good,” “fair,” or “poor” for each one. The seven plants which had the least amount of “poors” or “fairs” are the ones which made my top seven.
So here you go, gang. Straight from my garden… 7 super perennial groundcovers for sun, shade, and more.
1. Biokovo Hardy Geranium (Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo’)
The basics.
Height – 6″-12″. Spread – 12″-18″. Light – partial shade to full sun. Bloom color – white with pinkish sepals. Bloom time – mine bloom from late May through mid July. Foliage – herbaceous to semi-evergreen to evergreen. Hardy in zones 4-8. Primary method of growth/spreading/colonizing/naturalizing – rhizomes (rhizomatous). They also self-sow.
Note: This article is all about perennial groundcover plants. As groundcover, these plants obviously spread. You’ll read that they spread rhizomatously, stoloniferously, through self-sowing, or by combinations of rhizomes/self-sowing or stolons/self-sowing. For a more in-depth look at these mechanisms, please click here.
Notes from the field.
Hardy geraniums, or cranesbill, are true geraniums (the tender variety – annuals in colder hardiness zones – are not). Although there are a number of varieties of hardy geranium available to gardeners, I chose my Biokovos because of their comparatively low height, bloom color, colonizing proficiency, and toughness. They’re a natural groundcover candidate. My colony of naturalized Biokovos are now in their third year in my garden. I planted seven of them as small, immature, potted individuals. Since planting them, they’ve spread beautifully to form a beautiful green wave which nods with gorgeous white blooms in my largest planting bed. I no longer know how many Biokovos are growing there. They’ve spread beautifully and amicably. They don’t swarm their neighbors; they coexist peaceably with them. In terms of light requirements, mine were originally planted in one of the shadiest parts of my garden. They’ve spread, however, to encompass areas that are in both shade and sun, and the individuals growing respectively in each of these conditions are thriving equally well. These plants are extremely easy to divide and transplant. Mine remain fairly evergreen over the winter. This is a remarkably tough, adaptable, and beautiful groundcover.
Suggestions for planting Biokovo hardy geranium.
- Plant in spring after the danger of frost has passed. This is a great rule of thumb. I planted mine, however, in mid summer a couple of years ago, and they performed beautifully.
- Soil. These plants do well in a variety of soil types as long as long as it is moist but well-drained. They’ll die if their roots stew in soggy soil. And as long as the soil pH is approximately neutral (a few points either north or south of 7.0 is fine), they’ll be happy. I fertilize mine in early spring with Espoma’s excellent Plant-tone, an organic food with an N-P-K ratio of 5-3-3.
- Water. Although they do well in moist, well-drained soil, Biokovos are drought-tolerant once established.
- Pruning/deadheading. For the most part, nah. I’ve never deadheaded mine, and they sometimes even rebloom in the fall. In the spring, I sometimes cut off dead and brown foliage, but usually not. They do just great when you leave ’em alone.
Report card.
- Beauty – Excellent. These plants, which form a lush, green blanket with well-defined foliage and graceful white blooms will easily wander into your heart and twine about your fancy.
- Hardiness and Adaptability – Excellent. Shade or sun, sand or loam, heat or cold, these little beauties handle it all with well-mannered aplomb.
- Pest Resistance – Excellent. Mine survived a heavy vole infestation with no problem at all. Although the voles had tunneled beneath and among my Biokovos, the plants themselves never flinched. The rodents never touched them. These tough little plants are considered rodent and deer-resistant perennials. And, although I’ve got a massive slug population in my garden, I’ve never seen any evidence of slug damage whatsoever to my Biokovos.
- Foot Traffic Tolerance – Fair. Don’t step on your Biokovo hardy geraniums if you can help it. They’ll bounce back, but don’t push your luck.
- Pollinator Friendliness – Good. Mine have attracted a number of different types of butterfly.
- Weed Suppression – Excellent.
- Amphibian Friendliness – Excellent. They create a safe haven and for toads and frogs.
- Manageability – Excellent. This is literally a well-behaved rhizomatous groundcover. It’s very easy to control and divide, but controlling it seems unnecessary. This little plant is actually gracious with its neighbors. It gently twines around other plants but never overwhelms them.
- Ease of Propagation. Excellent. Just divide them and transplant.
2. Hardy Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides)
The basics.
Height – 4”-12”. Spread – 12″-24″. Light – partial shade to full sun. Bloom color – vibrant blue. Bloom time – mid summer to early fall. Foliage – herbaceous. Hardy in zones 5-9. Primary method of growth/spreading/colonizing/naturalizing – rhizomes (rhizomatous).
Notes from the field.
My hardy plumbago have been growing in my garden since the early summer of 2020. I originally planted eight plants, but their rhizomatous spreading has resulted in a higher, unknown number. They occupy a patch of garden that ranges in light exposure from mostly shade to partial sun. All individuals grow well in either condition, but the plants which receive the most sun seem to flower just slightly more profusely. These are aggressive spreaders that can overwhelm smaller plants, so some pruning/dividing may be necessary. They don’t spread super quickly, but they are inexorable. I planted eight individuals initially and there is now a larger, indistinct population. Their rhizomatous growth habit takes them where they’d like to be. In any case, they’re relatively easy to manage, and the beauty they bring to their sections of my big blue and white planting feature makes any minor disciplining more than worthwhile. These are incredibly hardy, extremely low maintenance groundcover plants. They compliment taller plants beautifully (and smaller ones, too, if managed properly) and provide terrific later season color. They look great planted in front of, and among, my taller plants like asters, phlox, and hydrangea. I love my hardy plumbago. One item to note – they are a bit slow to emerge and leaf out in spring. Be prepared for a bare patch of ground from winter through mid spring. By late spring, they’ll have emerged and begun to leaf out.
Suggestions for planting hardy plumbago.
- Plant in early summer. This gives them time to settle in and get ready to bloom for you. I planted mine in mid summer as second year field grown plants. They almost immediately set buds and flowered by the end of August.
- Soil. These plants do well in a variety of soil types as long as long as it is well-drained. Mine are not fussy about soil pH. At various times, the soil in which they’re growing has ranged from mildly acidic to mildly alkaline, and they grew and bloomed beautifully. I do apply a feeding of Espoma Plant-tone to their spot in the planting bed in early spring.
- Water. Water these guys once or twice a week while they’re establishing. After that, they’re incredibly drought-tolerant.
- Pruning/deadheading. No deadheading at all. These are self-cleaners. A flower drops off and a new one takes its place with no help from me at all. In late fall or early winter, after all the foliage is brown and shriveled, or has fallen off, I cut the stems flush with the ground.
Report card.
- Beauty – Excellent. Mounds of leafy green decorated with mid summer blue blooms are incredibly attractive. And they look terrific growing with so many other plants, both larger and smaller.
- Hardiness and Adaptability – Excellent. Great in sun or shade, and in virtually all types of soil, these plants are rugged and adaptable.
- Pest Resistance – Excellent. Like the Biokovo geraniums, my plumbago survived vole and chipmunk infestations with no problem. I’ve never seen signs of slug, insect, or parasite damage on these plants, either. As an added bonus, hardy plumbago is classified as a deer-resistant perennial variety.
- Foot Traffic Tolerance – Fair. I try not to step on these plants, but I have. Some of them are up to ten or twelve inches in height. If you step on a plant this tall, you’re going to snap some stems. This has happened, but the affected individuals always bounced back.
- Pollinator Friendliness – Good. Butterflies and moths seem to love the flowers of these plants. I continually spot them there. I’ve even seen bees visit them occasionally.
- Weed Suppression – Excellent.
- Amphibian Friendliness – Excellent.
- Manageability – Good. Even though these spread fairly slowly, they spread in a big, powerful way. Their rhizomes are thick and tough, and they’ll grow over smaller plants in their path. But they’re relatively easy to contain. I usually feel around for the connecting stem and cut it, then pull up the aggressor by its burgeoning root system. Pretty easy to handle, but you do need to handle them.
- Ease of Propagation. Excellent. Divide and transplant. Bingo bango.
3. Snow-in-Summer (Cerastium tomentosum)
The basics.
Height – 4″-6″. Spread – 10″-18″. Light – partial sun to full sun. Bloom color – bright white. Bloom time – early May through early/mid June. Foliage – semi-evergreen/evergreen. Hardy in zones 3-8. Primary method of growth/spreading/colonizing/naturalizing – stolons (stoloniferous), and self-sowing.
Notes from the field.
I planted my two snow-in-summer plants last April on the sunny slope of my blue and white hill planting feature. They grew rapidly, sending out runners (stolons) in all directions. And I’m fairly certain they self-sowed, because this year, I’m seeing some new little snow-in-summer plants which maintain no physical connection to the parent plants. These plants spread quickly, but are simple to manage. They don’t get very tall and present very little danger of overwhelming nearby plants. But if you don’t want them in certain places, they need to be reined in. Mine remained in an evergreen state throughout the winter. In mid to late March, they started exploding with new growth. I’m expecting a fresh flush of brilliant white flowers soon. These plants are hardy, and aside from the occassional snipping to control their mellow spread, they’re zero-maintenance.
Suggestions for planting snow-in-summer.
- Plant in mid spring. These are alpine plants which can handle the cold. If you’re planting them as seeds, it’s best to sow them directly into the ground in early spring. Mine were field cuttings which had a bit of growth going for them when I planted them. If you buy them from a nursery, April is a good month to plant them in zones 5 or 6.
- Soil. This is another plant which does well in a variety of soil types but prefers loose and loamy soil. It’s critical that the soil is well-drained. Mine do well in soil with a slightly acidic pH. I have never fertilized these plants, and I probably never will.
- Water. Water snow-in-summer well once a week until they’re established. After that, they’re extremely drought-tolerant. They will die if their roots become waterlogged.
- Pruning/deadheading. Nope. Just snip them back (and maybe do some minor uprooting) if they go where they’re not supposed to.
Report card.
- Beauty – Excellent. A wave of low green rolling with the land. When it’s covered in pure white flowers, the effect is stunning. It looks beautiful growing beneath and among taller plants like blue border gentians, blue lobelia, and shasta daisies.
- Hardiness and Adaptability – Good. Rugged evergreen foliage and vigorous, stolonoferous growth keeps it going in sunny areas of the garden.
- Pest Resistance – Excellent. Mine withstood a massive vole infestation with no problem. They sustained no damage whatsoever. They’re definitely rodent-resistant. They’re also considered deer-resistant perennial groundcover plants. Plus, mine have never been bothered by slugs. Wins all the way around.
- Foot Traffic Tolerance – Fair. Try not to step on these plants. I have occasionally, and very briefly and pretty gently, and they’ve bounced back fine. But I wouldn’t make a practice of it.
- Pollinator Friendliness – Unknown. I haven’t seen any pollinators on the blooms of these plants. I’m not sure if pollinators avoid them, or if I just haven’t been around when they’ve visited.
- Weed Suppression – Excellent.
- Amphibian Friendliness – Excellent.
- Manageability – Excellent. These spread fairly quickly and pervasively. But their stolons are delicate and they initially root in shallow fashion. They’re very easy to snip back and uproot.
- Ease of Propagation. Excellent. Seeding is simple. Direct sow in early spring (or let them self-sow). Dividing is simple, too. Snip the runner, uproot the new plant, and transplant. Done.
4. Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata)
The basics. Height – 2″-6″, depending on the variety. Spread – 12″-24″, depending on the variety. Light – full sun. Bloom color – depends on the variety. Bloom time – spring. Foliage – evergreen, semi-evergreen. Hardy in zones 2–9, depending on the variety. The two varieties I grow/have grown in my garden are hardy in zones 3–8/9. Primary method of growth/spreading/colonizing/naturalizing – stolons (stoloniferous).
Notes from the field.
There are a few different ways you can acquire and plant these guys. You can order them in bareroot clumps or as small, potted individuals from online nurseries and then plant them in these forms. Or you can buy them directly from your local nursery in potted form, usually in a couple of different pot sizes. If you live in my hardiness zone, you can get these plants in the ground in late winter. Creeping phlox can also be planted in the fall. I can tell you, without equivocation, that these plants need sunlight, and that they don’t like to be smothered by taller, broader-leafed plants. Last year, I killed three of my creeping phlox by planting them way too close to (and basically under) heuchera and hostas. The broad leaves of these two plants grew out to smother the phlox, preventing them from getting sunlight and air circulation. For me it was a hard lesson learned. Your takeaway: when you plant them, make sure they’ll have air and sunlight.
It takes an individual plant a couple of years to reach its full, mature size. You’ll get incredible spring color and rich, green, mat-like growth from this hardy, sun-loving groundcover.
Suggestions for planting creeping phlox.
- You can plant these as early as late winter. If your plants are coming from a reputable online nursery, you’re going to get them at the proper planting time for your zone. Which will more than likely be late winter or early spring. The same goes for plants purchased at your local retail nursery. They’re going to have them available for you to plant when the time is right for your zone. The bottom line here is, these plants are ready to go into the ground while it’s still fairly cold. They’re really cold hardy.
- Soil. These plants like well-drained, neutral or slightly alkaline soil. I planted mine in my usual slightly acidic potting soil which I amended slightly with Espoma Garden Lime. Aside from their initial dose of built-in fertilizer in the potting soil, these plants have never been fertilized. If they continue to grow and thrive, I probably will not fertilize them.
- Water. Creeping phlox is really drought-tolerant. Even after the hottest and dryest summer days, they remained green, healthy, and wilt-free. As with the other plants on this list, soggy, non-draining soil will kill creeping phlox.
- Pruning/deadheading. These plants flower profusely in spring. Once they’ve stopped flowering, they can be pruned back to a manageable shape. This will allow for new growth over the summer, which will in turn set the stage for more profuse flowering the following spring. Deadheading? Nah. I’m not bending down to cut off a dead flower that’s located approximately two inches above sea level. Besides, I don’t need to. These flower just fine during their bloom season with no help from me.
Report card.
- Beauty – Excellent. This beautiful, low-growing, spreading mat of rich green foliage sparkling with colorful flowers in spring packs great visual punch. These look great underplanting taller perennials, spilling over walkways or down the sides of planters, or mingling with other low-growing groundcover plants.
- Hardiness and Adaptability – Good. The hardy, evergreen/semi-evergreen foliage of this tough little groundcover, combined with its cold weather durability, heat and drought-tolerance, and lack of dependence on fertilizing makes this a winner in any sunny section of your garden.
- Pest Resistance – Excellent. Again, mine survived a vole and chipmunk problem, have evidently never been bothered by slugs or snails, and have remained totally disease-free. Creeping phlox is also considered deer-resistant.
- Foot Traffic Tolerance – Good. Again, although I don’t make it a habit, I’ve stepped on a number of my creeping phlox plants during the summer (after the flowers were gone) with no ill effect whatsoever.
- Pollinator Friendliness – Excellent. I’ve seen everything from butterflies and moths, to bees, and even hummingbirds visit the flowers blooming on my creeping phlox.
- Weed Suppression – Excellent.
- Amphibian Friendliness – Excellent.
- Manageability – Excellent. Even though these spread in robust fashion, they don’t “overrun” anything. They’re extremely easy to cut back, if necessary.
- Ease of Propagation. Excellent. Dividing is simple. Pull up the root ball, separate the individual into a few main stems, and divide and transplant. I’m going to do this with a couple of my larger individuals this fall.
5. Woodland Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis sylvatica)
The basics.
Height – 6″-12″. Spread – 8″- 12″. Light – partial shade to full shade. Bloom color – periwinkle blue. Bloom time – April through May. Foliage – evergreen. Hardy in zones 3-8. Primary method of growth/spreading/colonizing/naturalizing – profuse self-sowing.
Notes from the field.
These plants are not true perennials in the strictest sense of the word. They are actually short-lived perennials, or biennials, which grow from seed in their first year, and then mature, set buds, flower, seed heavily, and die in their second year. But because these plants do seed so incredibly profusely, they spread/colonize/naturalize successfully enough to remain a constant and growing presence, year after year, in the garden. The reality is, therefore, that these plants are effectively perennial. They persist (as a colony) in the garden year after year, in ever-increasing numbers.
I first planted these in my garden in the summer of 2020. I purchased twelve tiny plants, each in a 2″ mini pot, from a local nursery. They grew moderately that first summer, remained evergreen all winter, and exploded with growth and substance in their second summer. They bloomed beautifully, self-sowed massively, and died. But before they died, the seedlings started growing. These seedlings were too numerous to count. All of the forget-me-nots currently growing in my garden, are those seedlings. But they’re no longer seedlings; they’re bushy clumps of evergreen foliage, heavy with soon-to-open buds. The woodland forget-me-not show continues for another season, and it’s got a bigger cast than ever. I now have a fully naturalized and permanent colony of woodland forget-me-nots in my garden. And I’m thrilled. This bunch offers waves of fabulous blue blooms and rich green foliage in the shadiest sections of my garden.
Suggestions for planting woodland forget-me-nots.
- Plant them when you get them. If you buy these plants from a nursery in spring, you’re more than likely getting plants which are growing in their second year. These will either be already blooming (a great retail selling point) or will be blooming soon. These will drop their flowers, self-sow, then die not terribly long after you plant them. Such is this plant’s normal life cycle. If you buy them from a nursery toward the middle of summer (as I did), you’re more than likely getting plants that are basically little more than seedlings. That’s ok. Buy them and plant them and water them. They’ll grow a bit bigger and stay green through the fall and winter. Then they’ll put on a huge show for you the following spring, and leave you with a whole new crop that summer. If you’ve got seeds, sow them directly into the ground any time before the weather starts to turn cold. Mid to late summer is a perfect time.
- Soil. Woodland forget-me-nots like moist, well-drained soil that can range from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline (low sixes to high sevens). I’ve fertilized mine lightly with Espoma Plant-tone with excellent results.
- Water. Although these plants like moist soil, they can’t tolerate soggy soil. Waterlogging their roots will kill them.
- Pruning/deadheading. No pruning, and no deadheading (unless you want to collect seeds). Leave the seedheads in place if you want these plants to self-sow. When the mature plants die, I leave much of their aerial structures in place to decompose as compost. If they prevent seedlings from rooting or receiving water and light, I’ll remove them.
Report card.
- Beauty – Excellent. Rich evergreen drifts covered in twinkling, periwinkle blue, star-shaped flowers in late spring and early summer. They look great planted with other plants of any size. They grow side-by-side with Biokovo hardy geraniums, (which are about the height of the forget-me-nots), they’re taller than some of their primrose neighbors but they don’t overwhelm them. And they look incredible growing under and around the much taller hellebores with which they share planting bed territory. Their gem-like blue flowers vibrate in lovely contrast with the helllebores’ white blooms.
- Hardiness and Adaptability – Good. Like many other individual plants with which they share their particular section of their planting feature, many of my forget-me-nots grow in varying levels of sunlight – from almost full shade to partial sun. And every one of them performs beautifully. They’re not super-choosey about their soil as long as it’s moist and well-drained. Although individual woodland forget-me-nots are short-lived perennials, their population, as a whole, is a rugged, permanent, persistent, and lovely addition to my garden’s groundcover lineup.
- Pest Resistance – Excellent. With slugs, snails, moles, voles, and chipmunks all prowling my garden, I would have expected some damage to my clumps of F-M-Ns. Not so. My colony seems unperturbed (and untouched) by these destructive little creatures.
- Foot Traffic Tolerance – Fair. Every once in awhile, I’ll inadvertently step on some of these plants. Some bounce back just fine, some bounce back but are never quite the same, and some get squished. Try not to walk on them.
- Pollinator Friendliness – Excellent. Bees, butterflies, moths, plus ladybugs, spiders, and dragonflies all frequently visit my woodland forget-me-nots.
- Weed Suppression – Excellent.
- Amphibian Friendliness – Excellent.
- Manageability – Excellent. These guys self-sow aggressively, but they’re super easy to manage. just pull up any seedlings or immature plants that don’t belong. If you let them do their thing, they’ll spread in larger and larger, visually stunning drifts.
- Ease of Propagation. Excellent. Super easy. Let them self-sow, collect the seedheads and plant the seeds, or pull up individual existing plants to relocate: it’s all good.
Espoma Organic Garden Lime is a great product for raising alkalinity levels in soil. It can be mixed with the bedding soil, or used to top dress soil around plants which are already in the ground. I use this to amend the soil of the plants in my garden which prefer higher pH levels, like hellebores and creeping phlox. This is a very effective product. Order it product here, from Amazon, by clicking the #advertisement link.
If you’ve got to take your soil’s pH in the other direction, try Espoma’s Organic Soil Acidifier. I’ve used this product to lower soil pH for plants like my blue hydrangeas and rhododendrons. It’s very effective and allows acid-loving plants like these to better absorb nutrients from fertilizing products. Order it here, from Amazon, by clicking the #advertisement link.
I love Espoma’s organic fertilizers. Plant-tone is the one I use for the majority of the flowering plants in my garden. It’s got an N-P-K ratio of 5-3-3 and is a great all-purpose organic fertilizer. It works perfectly for plants like corydalis, viola, dianthus, shasta daisies, and primroses, to name a few. It’s perfectly suited for use with almost every single one of the groundcover plants discussed in this article. I’ve already given much of my garden a good dose of Espoma Plant-tone. Click the #advertisement link to order this product here, from Amazon.
I bought this Luster Leaf Rapitest 4-way soil analysis meter in February of 2022 and have used it successfully time after time to test for soil fertility and pH levels. It also measures sunlight and soil moisture levels. It’s fast, easy to use, convenient, and accurate. By using this device, I’ve been able to accurately determine the necessity of appropriate fertilizer applications and pH amending to the soil of my garden’s perennials. Click the #advertisement link to learn more and to order it here, directly from Amazon.
Before I bought my LusterLeaf Rapitest 4-way soil analysis meter this winter, I used the Rapitest Soil Test Kit. It’s also accurate, but requires a bit more time to use than the Rapitest 4-way meter. It’s still an effective and accurate product, and I highly recommend it. Order it here, from Amazon, by clicking the #advertisement link.
6. Blue Star Creeper (Isotoma fluviatilis or Lobelia pedunculata)
The basics.
Height – 1″-3″. Spread – 18″. Light – full shade to full sun. Bloom color – light blue. Bloom time – spring and summer . Foliage – herbaceous, semi-evergreen, evergreen. Hardy in zones 5B/6A-9. Primary method of growth/spreading/colonizing/naturalizing – rhizomes or stolons.
Some curiosities.
Last summer, in my article entitled “Lilies: The Renaissance Garden Guy Way,” I first described this amazing little groundcover. It grows energetically in my garden’s lily/daylily planting feature, and in a few other spots in my garden, as well. My initial research of this plant turned up some curious facts. Below is a quote from the above-mentioned article in which I describe my findings regarding blue star creeper:
“Blue star creeper is the plant I chose as a groundcover in my lily planting feature. Its common name refers to its creeping growth habit and the profusion of tiny, light blue, star-shaped flowers which cover the plant at various times throughout spring and summer. Although I use mulch in all of my planting features, I don’t want bare expanses of it visible in any of my planting features, hence my decision to go with a ground cover in my lily patch (you’ll read more a bit later in this post about my design and implementation of the lily planting feature). Curiously, my research has shown there to be at least two scientific names for Blue star creeper. It seems to be categorized scientifically as either Isotoma fluviatilis or Lobelia pedunculata. This is bizarre and inexplicable. But I literally have found this ostensibly single plant referred to scientifically with two different genus names and two different species names. Crazy. I’m going to investigate this more fully and talk about it in a future post. If any readers have an explanation for this, please leave a comment. In addition, there seems to be a discrepancy about the method it utilizes to spread. Some sources claim it spreads by rhizomes, and others claim it spreads by subterranean stolons (click this link for more on rhizomes and stolons). Since it’s pretty difficult for me to visually identify the anatomical characteristics which distinguish a rhizome from an underground stolon (most stolons do their thing at or above the surface – not underground) on this particular low-growing, ground-hugging plant, I’m gonna punt on this one. Suffice it to say that this plant spreads. And I mean spreads. Really fast, and in all directions. When I’ve unearthed spreading sections of this plant, I found tangles of little root networks grabbing onto and growing into the underlying substrate. It’s definitely spreading via underground methods, and it’s definitely rooting. I’m just not 100% sure if it’s doing this via rhizomes or underground stolons. If it was spreading by rhizomes, it would be the plant’s main stem itself which would be doing the underground spreading and rooting. If the growth was stoloniferous, the underground spreading stem would be an offshoot of the plant’s main stem. I just can’t get a close enough look to make that distinction. If anyone knows definitively, give me a heads-up. I’m curious. But I digress. For the sake of this post, there’s a really fast-spreading ground cover sharing the lily patch with the true lilies and daylilies. It’s doing a great job of serving as a lush and verdant underplanting for the much larger and more prominent foundation plants, namely the true lilies and daylilies.“
Since I wrote that article, a bit more research on my part has me leaning (if ever so very slightly) toward the Isotoma fluviatilis camp. Which begs another curiosity. If this is indeed the correct genus and species nomenclature for this plant, then it also (by virtue of its common family Campanulaceae) is sometimes called Larentia fluviatilis. Crazy, huh? And as far as its spreading mechanism goes, I still can’t tell if its doing its thing via rhizomes or underground stolons. The best I can tell is that it’s definitely rooting at its little nodes. The plants are so small and so low, it’s tough to tell if it’s a main stem or an offshoot that’s creeping outward and rooting. Even by pulling a plant up and looking, it’s too small for me to examine its anatomy effectively. And I’m not dragging my fifty-year-old microscope out of the attic for this.
Notes from the field.
This is one little badass of a groundcover. It spreads out and roots quickly, exponentially increasing its growth. And that growth can occur in virtually any substrate, including sand. I originally planted this in my lily/daylily planting feature as twenty-two small, individual plants. It quickly spread outward and rooted through mulch and weed barrier to the underlying soil. It set up shop in this feature, and is definitely there to stay. And all I can tell you is “Wow!” (in a good way). It’s now in its third spring in my lily feature, and it is impossible to tell how many individuals are now growing there. They form the most incredible, blue-star-spangled, green carpet for the floor of my lily and daylily planting feature. I also planted blue star creeper in my very first completed section of limestone walking paths. I created a small planting pocket for each plant in the sand between the limestone steppers. All of the blue star creeper individuals which I planted there grew successfully and eventually overpowered some of the other small groundcover plants which I had also planted in this location.
Suggestions for planting blue star creeper.
- Planting and locating. Mine grow in sun or shade and flower pretty profusely wherever they’re growing. But be careful where you plant them. These guys take the ball and run with it. If you owned a 50’x50′ expanse of bare ground, and you planted 20 or 30 of these plants as small individuals there in the spring, by the end of summer, these 20 or 30 individuals will have spread to cover the whole space. This is how quickly and assertively they spread. Put ’em any place where you’d like to see low, green growth.
- Soil. I’ve grown mine in sand, loam, potting mix, organic bed soil, top soil, mulch – literally in almost every imaginable substrate – and they’ve grown aggressively. In my lily/daylily planting feature, they root right into the top layer of mulch. In my garden, these plants grow in soil which ranges from slightly acidic (6.1) to slightly alkaline (7.9). The only requirement, in terms of soil, is drainage. Like many other perennials in my garden, waterlogging them will rot their roots and stems, and kill them.
- Water. Water well a couple of times each week for the first few weeks after planting. If they’re baking in the sun, water them more frequently. Once they’re established, they’re extremely drought-tolerant.
- Pruning/deadheading. Nope.
Report card.
- Beauty – Excellent. The thick, low, green mat of foliage is undeniably beautiful all by itself. But when clusters of those tiny light blue flowers cover that foliage as it, in turn, covers the ground beneath your dazzling featured plants, the look becomes absolutely magical. Dynamite really does come in small packages.
- Hardiness and Adaptability – Excellent. Any time, any place.
- Pest Resistance – Excellent. No pest, whether disease, parasite, insect, or rodent, has slowed the inexorable spread of these mighty little plants in my garden. Voles have munched on them in the past, but they grew back almost as quickly as they were chewed on.
- Foot Traffic Tolerance – Excellent. I walk on mine all the time. Not a problem.
- Pollinator Friendliness – Good. Bees and little butterflies and moths are all over these guys.
- Weed Suppression – Excellent.
- Amphibian Friendliness – Excellent.
- Manageability – Good. They’re aggressive, no doubt. But keep an eye on them and just pull out the rooting stems in the spots where you don’t want them.
- Ease of Propagation. Excellent. You want more of these things? Why? They’ll eventually be everywhere anyway. All kidding aside, these are easy to divide and transplant. Just select a few stems or grab some clumps, pull them up, and stick them where you want them to grow.
7. Low-Growing Stonecrop Sedum: Voodoo Stonecrop (Sedum spurium ‘Voodoo’), Little Miss Sunshine Stonecrop (Sedum kamtschaticum ‘Little Miss Sunshine’), Angelina Stonecrop (Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’)
The basics.
Height – 4″-8″ (depending on the variety). Spread – 10″-36″ (depending on the variety). Light – partial sun to full sun. Bloom color – yellow or pink (depending on the variety). Bloom time – late spring through midsummer. Foliage – succulent, semi-evergreen/evergreen. Hardy in zones 3-9. Primary method of growth/spreading/colonizing/naturalizing – stolons (stoloniferous).
Notes from the field.
Stonecrop sedums are of the creeping variety of sedum (rather than the tall, upright clumping variety). They grow by creeping outward in stoloniferous fashion. I’ve got the above-listed three varieties growing in my garden and they’re all extremely hardy, prolific spreaders. I use them to cover the ground in my rose garden planting feature (Voodoo stonecrop), my peony feature (Angelina stonecrop), and my gardenia feature (Little Miss Sunshine stonecrop – together with creeping phlox, they make for a great groundcover combo). Stonecrop sedum is one of the hardiest, lowest maintenance groundcovers available. These plants are happy in virtually all soil conditions, are extremely drought-tolerant, and are incredibly long-lived. They’re so tough and productive, I’d forget they were even in my garden if it weren’t for their beautiful, textured foliage and lovely early-to-mid summer flowers.
Suggestions for planting stonecrop sedum.
- Planting and locating. These plants do like sunlight. The more, the better. Although they’ll perform in partial sun, if you give them at least six hours of direct sunlight, they’ll explode with foliage and cover themselves with blooms. They do creep and spread at a moderately quick pace, but they don’t overpower each other or any of their neighbors, including other low-growing ground covers. Voodoo and Sunshine can spread up to 24″, while Angelina can grow up to three feet in diameter. But the growth habit of these plants is diffuse. Other plants can grow with, among, through, and over them with no complications. They make the perfect groundcover for taller featured plants, and other co-habitating groundcovers.
- Soil. These plants are not picky about soil type, as long as it’s well-drained. Soggy soil is a death sentence for them. They’re extremely happy in arid soil. Soil pH is acceptable in the slightly acidic-neutral-slightly alkaline range. Mine root beautifully in mulch, and they find a way to root down through weed barrier, as well. But they do not root deeply.
- Water. Keep their soil slightly moist until they’re established, then water once a week or less. DO NOT OVER-WATER STONECROP SEDUM. These plants are extremely drought-tolerant.
- Pruning/deadheading. Only if you want to rein them in.
Report card.
- Beauty – Excellent. The incredibly well-defined, textured, and juicy foliage of the various stonecrop sedums is legendary. Whether it grows under taller plants, or mixes and mingles with companion groundcovers, stonecrop sedum foliage adds texture, richness, and amazing visual impact to any planting feature.
- Hardiness and Adaptability – Excellent. As long as they get enough sunlight and are not waterlogged, these plants can’t be killed.
- Pest Resistance – Excellent. Mine have never been bothered by any pest that I know of. They’ve been uprooted by a hunting mink and a foraging racoon once or twice, but they never broke stride. I just threw a little soil and mulch over the exposed roots, and they were as good as new within a day or two. I’ve never even seen slugs bother any of them.
- Foot Traffic Tolerance – Excellent. Mine handle foot traffic with no problem. Sometoimes frequently. You can definitely walk on these guys.
- Pollinator Friendliness – Good. They’re low to the ground, but bees, moths, and small butterflies visit their flowers.
- Weed Suppression – Fair. Occassionally, a few weeds pop up among the comparatively looser-growing creeping stems.
- Amphibian Friendliness – Excellent.
- Manageability – Good. These are really easy to control. They don’t root deeply, and their spreading stems are simple to cut.
- Ease of Propagation. Excellent. Really simple. You can cut the ends of rooting stems and basically just put the cut ends in some soil and then water them. They’ll root and start growing quickly. Or you can divide a plant between rooting nodes, and uproot and re-plant what you’ve separated. You can even collect the seeds from the early to mid summer flowers and sow them directly into the ground in fall (I’m going to try this myself this fall).
A reminder to take care of your hands.
All the work you do in your garden is going to undoubtedly take a toll on your hands. I wrote an entire (albeit short) article here on The Renaissance Garden Guy this last fall about protecting your fingers and hands. It’s critically important to take care of your hands. This is obvious. If your hands are wrecked, it’ll be awfully tough to work your garden effectively. So I offer you here some great product recommendations for hand care and protection. I use and love every single one of these items.
Beesential Gardener’s and Mechanics Small Batch Bar Soap is all natural, contains fresh ground coffee, and is made and approved by beekeepers. Most importantly, it cleans my hands and keeps them comfortable and healthy. I highly recommend it. If my beat-to-shit hands benefit from it, yours will too. Order it here, from Amazon, by clicking the #advertisement link.
Beesential Gardener’s and Mechanics Small Batch Bar Soap
Click here to learn more or to order
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Crabtree & Evelyn Gardeners Ultra-Moisturizing Hand Therapy is a great moisturizing product for any hands – women’s hands, men’s hands, doctor’s hands, lawyer’s hands, construction worker’s hands, gardener’s hands. And since I’ve been using it, I actually feel like my hands and digits are actually, once again, part of my original anatomy. You only need to use a tiny amount at a time, and it moisturizes the skin on your fingers and hands (even your finger nails) with absolutely no greasy feeling whatsoever. Awesome product. Click the #advertisement link to order it here, from Amazon.
Crabtree & Evelyn Gardeners Ultra-Moisturizing Hand Therapy
Click here to learn more or to order
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O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Hand Cream is THE go-to for healing up your seriously abused fingers and hands. It’s not fancy. It’s not exotic. It’s not gourmet. It’s not “handcrafted”. It is incredibly effective. It does everything it’s supposed to do – it repairs the badly damaged skin on your overworked hands. O’Keeffe’s guarantees it. This is an incredible product. I absolutely can’t, and won’t, do without it. To learn more, and to order it here, from Amazon, click the #advertisement link.
I’ve said it time and again: You’ve gotta take care of your hands. The Gloveworks HD Orange Nitrile Disposable Gloves are my own paws’ salvation. They’re comfortable, versatile, and remarkably durable. I rarely ever rip them. Seriously. And I’ve put them through some pretty brutal paces. Plus, they’re touch screen friendly. I give these gloves five stars out of five. I’ve used other disposable latex and nitrile gloves in the past, and none of them even came close to these Gloveworks HD Orange Nitriles. Try ’em, you’ll love ’em! Order them here, from Amazon, by clicking the #advertisement link.
So now you know, fairly intimately, my garden’s 7 super perennial groundcovers. These low growers hit all the high notes in my garden in terms of some pretty important criteria. And even though these seven aren’t the only great groundcover choices available, they are definitely my favorites. If you follow my suggestions and read my notes, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect if you stick a few of these little guys in your own garden under some of your featured beauties and foundation plants, or in a bare patch or forlorn corner. And I can guarantee that they’ll work hard to make your beautiful garden even more beautiful. I highly recommend all of these beautiful, tough little plants.
Cheers, and Happy Gardening!
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I learn so much. Even though I can’t apply I love to read about the wonders of gardening.
Thank you for reading the article, Sue. I’m glad you found some interesting info there. And you’ve made a really interesting point. A fairly large number of subscribers to this site don’t personally garden. Like you, though, they find the beauty and science behind gardening fascinating. Before I ever started doing it myself, I found the idea of gardening to be really intriguing. Since I’ve been actively doing it, I’ve learned so much and have enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks so much for your interest, Sue. I truly appreciate it.
Thanks for this article on ground covers, I need to add some this year, I took notes and will be on the lookout for forget-me-nots, blue star creeper and plumbago.
Thanks for giving the article a read, Jill – much appreciated! I’m glad that the info was useful and that some of these selections will work for you. The three that you’re contemplating are prodigious spreaders/colonizers/naturalizers, and their respective flowers, in varying shades of blue, are lovely. You’ll have drifts of gorgeous foliage and blooms covering the ground in your garden before you know it!
Great choices and lots of information. They all look like they would be a beautiful addition to any garden.
Thank you, Kevin. Glad you liked the article, and that the info was helpful. I must admit, I do love every one of these plants.
The knowledge you have is unbelievable and your posts are incredibly detailed and well written…. And those beautiful images that proves even more what incredible gardener you are, but also it shows how much love and passion you have. Without love you can’t accomplish and have beautiful results🌸❤️
Always enjoying your posts 🌸❤️🙏
Thank you so much, Roxxy. I am so grateful for your kindness and your interest in my efforts. I’m so glad you enjoyed the article. I wish I was a better photographer, but I think the beauty of these little plants is evident in spite of my lousy photography. Thank you once again for everything.
Your Photography is good John, can’t get artsy fartsy with garden pics as they have to be accurate. I think I have seen the creeping phlox growing wild here & will certainly take pictures to compare. Now I know there’s such a thing in gardening as ‘ground covers’.
Thank you so much, Tess. I agree with you about accuracy coming first with the plant pics. I’ve heard of phlox (creeping and tall phlox both) escaping and naturalizing in many areas. I’d love to see pictures of the wild creeping phlox that you’ve seen. Thanks again, Tess.
The lushness of the ground cover has added a whole new dimension to our garden.
I agree. Groundcover plants manage to add great beauty and dimension to a planting bed without distracting from its featured plants.
Love, love this!! Being in a wheelchair or on crutches. Ground cover is what I need in my small garden space. It is so hard to weed. Snow in summer is on my buy list now as a favorite want !! Beautiful!! Thank you for all this information!! Loved it!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the article, Sharon. Snow-in-summer really is an awesome little plant. It looks great covered in those beautiful white flowers. Please let me know what you think when you get yours.
You had me at self-sowing. Love ground covers.
Lol!!! I’m with you on that one. They really make a great garden even more beautiful. Thanks, Everly!
I love the blue star creepers!
And Happy Earth Day!!!
Happy Earth Day, Bunny! Those little creepers are awesome, aren’t they?!
Such a wealth of information! Thank you, John! Am I agree about O’Keefe’s Working Hands!
Thank you, Katha – glad the info was good. I definitely appreciate your interest. And O’Keeffe’s? Yep. It’s the best!