Good ground cover needed

[Lori Hunt]

Hello,

I am trying to find a good groundcover for a hillside in SE Tennessee. I have a very steep hillside for a front yard, and I'd like to find some plant that will grow there and look nice, not require mowing, and is not kudzu.

I'm considering sweet potato vines, but would be receptive to ideas for other stuff, too. Low maitenance would be a good thing.

My husband just had an incident with the mower sliding off the hillside, so we're thinking of alternatives to grass growing there before he breaks something.

Any ideas or tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

Lori

[William W. Plummer]

There are many good ground covers. Pachysandra, bearberry, vinca, sweet woodruff. I like the woodruff because you can use it for Maiwein -- add to Riesling and add strawberries,in May.

[The Data Rat]

How about crown vetch? You can plant it by seed, Blooms in the spring, and is ever green. The highway department has been using it on the slopes of over passes because it is cheap, reseeds itself and is maintenance free. It is stunning in the spring.

[Steveo]

Good suggestion with one exception. Vetch is -really- aggressive so it doesn't play nice with other plants. Weed b gone will control it in your lawn tho. Very hardy, like data said.

[William W. Plummer]

I agree. Crown Vetch is a weed. A whole field of it is impressive from afar, but it is tall and straggly. I don't think of it as a ground cover but rather, a space filler. Highway departments use it to stabilize the soil so it won't wash away in a storm and because they don't have to cut it.

[Lori Hunt]

That's what my husband is looking for, but that sounds too much like kudzu to me.

Unfortunately, the hill we are looking to cover has very poor soil and gets sun all day long. We need something aggressive that won't wash away. We've thought about mixing some good top soil in with it, but it's a large, steep area and the soil would say "bye-bye" with the next rainfall.

I've done some google searches on what's been suggested so far, and those have led to a variety of plants. One that I'm looking at is called dragon's blood red sedum. Does anyone have any experience with that? What I've found out about it is that it works wll with poor soil and grows quickly, and gets denser with more sun. Works for me, but I don't know anything about it other than what I've read and would like to hear from somebody who's actually played with it.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions!

Lori

[Mitch]

We had a very steep incline in our front yard in Pittsburgh. We planted English Ivy. It did great...we planted them about 12" apart, and the area was fully covered the following year.

[Heidi the Horrible]

Crown Vetch.... //////////////////////////////////

No, not at all. Kudzu is ugly and doesn't prevent errosion and goes dormant to a nasty brown in winter. Vetch can be very nice. It is difficult to establish but is bullet-proof and spreads like crazy once it does.

This fall, I would kill everything on the hillside and plant crown vetch mixed with annual rye grass. The rye will grow and establish quickly into a nice yard. Next May or so, the rye will begin to die and the vetch will take over.

Vetch blooms nicely about June 1 in TN and lasts until about July 15. Then if you mow/weed-eat it afte ther blooms fade, it will bloom again for another month or so.

Vetch does not need good soil or fertilizer and you'll get plenty of rain naturally for it.. I grow it in creeks, on steep hills and in rocky soil.

In my creek, the vetch is crowding out all the brush and crap that I had to clear twice a year.

I love the stuff...but people do think I'm crazy.

Perfect for vetch !

Vetch likes bad soil just fine.

Gook luck.

[john]

This sounds exactly like a 50 degree hill I'm trying to figure out what to do with in my backyard. however, the area runs right along my neighbor's grass for about 25 feet or so. I was going to just put in a treated 4x4 demark on the lot line, but if the vetch is so pervasive, will it be easy to keep it from getting into my neighbor's yard?

Thanks for any info

John

[William W. Plummer]

You might want to check that. I believe Crown Vetch wants dry soil and Purple Loosestrife is a similar looking plant that grows (invasily) in water.

[Steveo]

You can control it with weed b gone, in the lawn. I wouldn't put vetch near a raised bed or landscape tho, without preparing to control it.

Great idea for your hill btw.