Replacement groundcover

In mid-March, after posting to this forum and reading many responses, I planted 'Blue Star Creeper' in my partly-shaded garden.

The garden is 350-feet-square so I cut 612 plugs (each about 2 1/2" square) from 17 flats and planted the plugs 8 inches apart.

For the first two months, the plugs looked great!

However, by mid-June -- 3 months after planting, only a dozen plugs can be found and they look near-death. The other 600 plus have died (in fact, I can find no evidence that they ever existed).

From the day the plugs were planted, I used an oscillating sprinkler to water the garden:

Over the 3 months, the daytime temperatures have ranged from 55 to 95 degrees and the nighttime temperatures have ranged from 35 to 60 degrees.

During cool weather, I watered the garden at least every 3 days; during warm weather, I watered every day.

Does anyone tell me what went so terribly wrong?

=====================

I now want to try a different flowering groundcover that grows under six inches. What suggestions can you make?

Reply to
gary
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In mid-March, after posting to this forum and reading many responses, I planted 'Blue Star Creeper' in my partly-shaded garden.

The garden is 350-feet-square so I cut 612 plugs (each about 2 1/2" square) from 17 flats and planted the plugs 8 inches apart.

For the first two months, the plugs looked great!

However, by mid-June -- 3 months after planting, only a dozen plugs can be found and they look near-death. The other 600 plus have died (in fact, I can find no evidence that they ever existed).

Over the 3 months, the daytime temperatures have ranged from 55 to 95 degrees and the nighttime temperatures have ranged from 35 to 60 degrees.

During cool weather, I watered the garden at least every 3 days; during warm weather, I watered every day.

Can anyone tell me what went so terribly wrong?

=====================

I now want to plant a different (preferably flowering) groundcover that grows less than 6" tall.

Any recommendations?

Reply to
gary

In mid-March, after posting to this forum and reading many responses, I planted 'Blue Star Creeper' in my partly-shaded garden.

The garden is 350-feet-square so I cut 612 plugs (each about 2 1/2" square) from 17 flats and planted the plugs 8 inches apart.

For the first two months, the plugs looked great!

However, by mid-June -- 3 months after planting, only a dozen plugs can be found and they look near-death. The other 600 plus have died (in fact, I can find no evidence that they ever existed).

Over the 3 months, the daytime temperatures have ranged from 55 to 95 degrees and the nighttime temperatures have ranged from 35 to 60 degrees.

During cool weather, I watered the garden at least every 3 days; during warm weather, I watered every day.

Can anyone tell me what went so terribly wrong?

=====================

I now want to plant a different (preferably flowering) groundcover that grows less than 6" tall.

Any recommendations?

Reply to
gary

In mid-March, after posting to this forum and reading many responses, I planted 'Blue Star Creeper' in my partly-shaded garden in Riverside CA (about 60 miles east of Los Angeles).

The garden is 350-feet-square so I cut 612 plugs (each about 2 1/2" square) from 17 flats and planted the plugs 8 inches apart.

For the first two months, the plugs looked great!

However, by mid-June -- 3 months after planting, only a dozen plugs can be found and they look near-death. The other 600 plus have died (in fact, I can find no evidence that they ever existed).

Over the 3 months, the daytime temperatures ranged from 55 to 95 degrees and the nighttime temperatures ranged from 35 to 60 degrees.

During cool weather, I watered the garden at least every 3 days; during warm weather, I watered every day.

Can anyone tell me what went so terribly wrong?

=====================

I now want to plant a different (preferably flowering) groundcover that grows less than 6" tall.

Any recommendations?

Reply to
gary

gary expounded:

Where are you? Are you in any of the areas listed on this webpage

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where 'Blue Star Creeper' is supposed to grow well?

Reply to
Ann

Hi Ann,

I'm Riverside, CA (about 60 miles east of Los Angeles).

My USDA Hardiness Zone 8b which is one of the areas listed on the

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page for the 'Blue Star Creeper'.

Gary

Reply to
gary

I think you overwatered the plants. Up here in the North Central Valley, where it also gets hot, BSC seemed to prefer to be on the dry side. When we had an exceptionally wet winter, they did not survive.

There are other possibilities: gophers or slugs/snails Do you have problems with either?

Suggestions: Clover, Trifolium 'Dark Dancer' Strawberry 'Pink Panda' Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' a very small and dainty version of Ajuga "so far" it has not been as agressive as the other larger Ajugas. We'll see.............. Oregano 'Kent Beauty' Potentilla verna 'Nana' (also sold as P. tabernaemontanii)!! Tansy (Tanacetum densum amanii) needs good drainage

Emilie NorCal

Reply to
mleblanca

Hi Emilie,

"Watered" may be somewhat inexact. What I really intended to convey was that, for the first few weeks after planting the BSC plugs, I "sprinkled" them daily. After that, I watered the garden whenever the soil looked dry or on the warmer days. I never "flooded" the garden.

No, I don't have gophers, snails or slugs.

I'm looking for a fairly low-growing, flowering groundcover that will form a dense mat (to reduce the incessant weeds) and that will tolerate Riverside's 115-degree summer days and 20-degree winter days.

Reply to
gary

Gary Well, sometimes BSC just curls up its toes, and dies.......:^(

All of the ground covers that I listed do very well up here in Chico which has just about the same temps as Riverside. Hot, dry summers and cold winters. We get a little more rain than you do. (usually)

The pink flowered strawberry is very nice, has edible berries, and will fill in with runners as do regular strawberries. I have all the plants I suggested in my garden and all are very nice, and are 6 inches or less. The Potentilla has little yellow flowers and also spreads by runners.

Do you have Sunset Western Garden Book? It's an excellent source and has great lists of plants for all needs: hedges, groundcovers etc with appropriate areas of CA. You might find it at your library or buy a copy. It is an excellent reference and well worth the money. Good luck Emilie

Reply to
mleblanca

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