I have a very large maple tree that covers about half of my yard and every summer the grass dies underneath it from lack of sun (and rain I'm sure) Now it's just a dirt area. Is there anything I can plant underneath of it that would grow without a lot of encouragement? I need something pretty sturdy because I have a large dog that likes to run in my yard several times a day, though she's not really destructive. I thought about ivy but I was wondering if there's anything else?
Don't use ivy. It grows with thick stems and your dogs won't be abl to run through it without hurting themselves. It will also eventuall suck up all the moisture the tree needs and grow up into the tree causing additional stress on the tree, eventually causing an earl death if allowed to grow into the canopy.
I would suggest that you put down a 2" to 3" layer of shredded hardwoo mulch. You could plant something like liriope in a few areas where th dogs don't run. They are tough clump forming plants that can take th drier and shady conditions. Each spring you will need to cut the top off about 2" from the soil so they can renew themselves and look les tattered. Plant in odd numbers of clumps so it looks more pleasing t the eye or do a mass planting like in this picture where the great dan is resting. It comes in an all green or variegated cultivars as well.
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might also consider dwarf mondo grass as it looks more like lawn.
It is my understanding that Vinca grows very well in full shade, and it will spread fairly quickly. It has nice greenery, with beautiful purplish blue flowers on it in the Springtime:) I have some around several of my trees in the back of my property:)
Southwestern Ohio. I'm not sure what kind of maple it is. It doesn't turn color in the fall, the leaves just fall off. But it's big, about 50 ft. tall and it's right on the fence line, so there's an area that boops out into the lawn that grass just dies. (about a 15 ft. area) I've had peonies planted along the fence line, but they've all died underneath the tree, though they grow to either side of it. I try to plant grass there every spring but so far it's not made it until fall. Pat
Wintergreen. Very cold-hardy for your zone 5/6. It makes a nice shade groundcover, is evergreen, has small white flowers & big red berries, leaves that emerge red. The berries & leaves can be harvested & easily fermented for an amazingly flavorful drink. It's a rugged little plant & you should be able to bamboo-rake fallen leaves right off of it in autumn, & the dog oughtn't ruin it. About wintergreen:
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could also include Japanese anemones for something bigger that blooms fabulously late in the year. It couldn't have a dog rolling on it, but if she doesn't jump on bigger plants it'll only be at risk when first emerging each spring.
Vinca minor is a very close-to-the-ground very little groundcover. Vinca major is a bigger versioin; it will have YOUNG upright branches but these soon become long ground vines. Both V. minor & major can be invasive if they like where they're at.
There are at least three variegated forms of Vinca major on the market this season, & I these should make a lovely under-a-maple vine (vincas dislike much sunlight), & the variegated forms would be slightly less aggressive but still very easy plants, a very nice option to ivy. The flowers on V. major are usually just various shades of light to dark blue. Vinca minor has white, blue, & burgundy flowering varieties, & among the variegated forms of that 'Illumination' is the brightest.
Ivy may seem like a tedious predictable choice but if you contact an ivy specialist you will have choices of ivys that are fantastic choices with distinctive traits; the dwarf English ivies with variegation and/or curly leaves are not invasive like big boring regular ivy.
I appreciate the suggestions. I've had vinca on the west side of my house and it's done very well every year so maybe it would do well in the back under the tree.
Have you tried one of the lamiums? They're perennials, ground cover, some with multi-colored foilage, small but numerous blooms, and they'll grow most anywhere. They do fine under our trees in Zone 5.
No doubt there is some plants you can grow that don't need light or moisture, but I'm at a loss to think of any.
However, what I really think I should tell you is that whenever possible, it's never a good idea to plant anything beneath trees as the plants and the tree roots compete for the moisture (very little, usually) and nutrients, and the trees lose out. This publication from the Morton Arboretum (Chicago area) has a great picture showing the difference between tree roots where grass is planted compared to where there's only mulch:
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this helps!
Suzy in Wisconsin, Zone 5
"The way to avoid housework is to live outside." -Sandra Blacksmith, 1901
Maybe some garden art, and some clusters of container plants. You could even get sun-loving color spots in the containers, if you rotate them in and out. Get an old wheelbarrow or two, and put stuff in them. And top it all off with a hammock on a stand.
That may be true of the original species, but the multi-colored hybrids sold at the garden centers are much better behaved. Of course they spread, if they didn't nobody would buy them for a ground cover :-).
Ours have been in for several years now and we've had no need to cut them back.
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