Sunday, March 15, 2015

Ground cover for rehabilitated forest

I have been keeping my eyes open for ground cover to use on the forest floor after getting rid of the Euonymous fortunei (one of my projects for this year). Don't want to leave the ground bare, since other invasive species (e.g., garlic mustard) will certainly take advantage. Criteria include:

  • aggressive - I  want it to spread quickly without much coddling
  • low-maintenance - must do well in dry shade
  • cheap or already abundant - there's a big area to cover and I don't want to invest a lot
  • deer-resistant - this may be too much to ask

Nothing ideal so far; candidates include:

  • Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) - I should have enough to start transplanting this spring, though not a lot
  • American pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) - not a popular plant, but it meets the criteria
  • Violets (whatever Viola species is in the lawn) - I believe these need some sun, but I'll try it
  • Virginia creeper - need to keep this out of the trees
  • Canadian wild ginger (Asarum canadense) - planted this in 2013, but it hasn't spread enough yet to take any away
  • Eastern skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) - needs wet soil; also apparently hard to transplant
  • Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens) - too slow, especially at $5+ a pot?
Other possibilities:
  • Ferns?
  • Brambles - blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) or raspberry (Rubus idaeus)?
  • Sedges?
  • Mints?

No comments:

Post a Comment