Need suggestions: full sun & shade ground covers pls.

Hi - I'm going to winter sow a lot of flowers for a new full sun garden (in horrid Missouri clay soil), and I'm looking for a good groundcover for in-between the "hunks o' seed". I'd like a quick growing ground cover that I can plant around the new flowers to help choke out weeds (we grow nutgrass, chickweed and dandilions like crazy here in K.C.).

Anyone have good suggestions of (1) a good full-sun ground cover and a (2) good shade ground covers? I have a deck I'd like to put ground cover under for the shade.

Thanks - I'm in Zone 5 or 6 (lol, depending on which website you check).
Cynthia

Will asian jasmine or periwinkle survive in that zone? Jasmine is better in sun, but will grow in shade. Periwinkle is only for full shade. Check with you erxtension service or the master gardener organizaton in that office and they should definitely be able to answer your question.

I've had some jasmine growing in shade for the last four years and it's doing great. It blooms real well every summer too so, provided it can survive in your zone, it should be a good choice for you. I do agree with vburgjerry on that periwinkle though--it needs shade.

I'll check those out - Jasmine sounds great as it'll get shade most of the day but some sun early morning and late afternoon. Have hostas under the deck and they are happy - anxious to see this year how they come back. Will look up Periwinkle too. Thanks for the suggestions! Anyone else?

Cynthia here is a list of ground covers for your area. hope this helps.

http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6835

Thanks so much! I ordered some sedum, phlox, japanese surge - all which are on the list and are good for Missouri - even BEFORE I read this so I am really happy that I got the right stuff! Thanks for the info, I'll bookmark that page!

Just one thing I'd like to warn you about in looking for ground covers, do your research!!! Especially if you're looking for something fast growing. There are friends and there are foes! Some you can plant and never, never, NEVER get rid of! You can blast them babies with a nuke and they'll grow back. It doesn't matter the soil...and I bet your first thought is "that's what I want!!" but it's not. Sure, it sounds good now, when you're looking at bare soil...but in a few years when it's choking out your beautiful perennials you'll hate it and curse it and be back here begging to get rid of it...and you'll fight it for the rest of your life....

Guess how the rest of us know this????? ROTFLOL!!!

Do just a bit of research before planting and you'll be sooooo happy you did. Avoid anything with runner roots, you can't kill it, ever! Avoid anything that reseeds, you'll never be able to keep up with it. Watch out for anything with "creeping" or "weed" in the name (bindweed, bugleweed, etc) there's a reason that is there! Some can be good though.

Also, check out the DG PlantFiles for opinions on the plants and ask in forums for opinions on the plants before deciding on them.

Periwinkle (Vinca Major/Minor) will grow in your area. I grow Vinca Major in a rock garden and I'm in zone 5. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/search.php?q=periwinkle

Bugleweed (Ajuga) is a good choice for most folks. It can usually be easily controlled by clipping the edges, just don't let it hit your lawn. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/search.php?q=ajuga

Forget-Me-Not is great but can reseed. Sometimes it's an annual in our zone, but reseeding keeps it going. birds can deposit the seeds where you do not want them. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/search.php?q=forget-me-not

Lungwort is what I think you should plant! I've always wanted it, but never got to have it, lol. Raspberry Splash specifically http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/search.php?q=+Lungwort

Maiden Pinks (Dianthus deltoides form) grows as a matt and makes a great ground cover. they will also bloom all season with just a shearing. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/search.php?q=Dianthus+deltoides&Search=Search+PlantFiles

those are some ideas for you. One of my favorite "groundcovers" is Catmint. This is the one I grow http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/303/ Some folks say it attracks cats to their garden, but I never had that problem. It definately has a fragrance (some love it, some hate it). I believe the fragrance keeps critters out of the garden. Shear the blooms when they fade and it'll bloom all season. It can reseed on you, but seems to have shallow roots and can be pulled up easily.

Shearing any/all faded blooms early will keep the plants from setting seed on you.

Here's a search of PlantFiles for groundcovers for your zone http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/advanced.php?nn%5B16%5D=7&nn%5B1%5D=0&nn%5B2%5D=0&nn%5B3%5D=8&nn%5B4%5D=0&nn%5B5%5D=0&nn%5B6%5D=0&nn%5B7%5D=0&nn%5B8%5D=0&nn%5B9%5D=0&nn%5B23%5D=0&nn%5B59%5D=0&nn%5B10%5D=0&nn%5B12%5D=0&sname=Plants&Search=Search

Hope this helps. It'll at least keep you busy (and your head spinning in trying to decide) for a while! :)

Glad to help. Have fun with your new bed.

Thanks heathrjoy! You are right, lungwort is fabulous! I'll have to check into that. I have some chocolate chip ajuga I planted last fall - some threads say it is invasive but I haven't found that here in Missouri. It is really pretty and best news is that I got it for $1/plant when Lowe's cleared out last fall!

I'm not much on catmint, but do love periwinkle. I think it's an annual here, or at least that's how it was marketed at the nursery. I'll have to check into it as we had it in Texas and it did well in the sun.

I put in some japanese spurge last year, and I am hoping it comes back this next spring. It's gorgeous, one of my favorites.

I didn't know I could search plantfiles for groundcovers so thank you!! for the link!!! I so appreciate the help. Now, off to search for some lungwart! (ugly name, gorgeous plant)

I'm starting a new garden, from scratch, and I've just GOT to have some of that lungwort in it somewhere. It's just the prettiest, but coolest too how it has different colored flowers and splashed foliage. I know it's one of those plants I'll just go out and stare at every morning with my coffee cup in hand...telling DBF that the dog took *forever* to go potty, LOL!!!

Some periwinkles are strange. The ones I had were marked as annuals also. I had bought them and put them in with hanging baskets, just your ordinary Vinca Vine. At the end of the season I dump all my hanging baskets, etc. into/onto my rock garden because it needs good soil. The Vinca Vine's roots were still alive when it got dumped, it must have gotten covered with enough other soil and continued to root. The next spring it took off. After a few years half of my rock garden is covered with Vinca Vine...and that's fine with me. The rock garden is on a hill to keep erosion back and the vines look great tumbling over the rocks. This stuff roots wherever it touches soil, but because the rocks are there it's limited to where it touches soil, so it really isn't taking over. Other plants still grow up between it, it's not choking anything out, it's not that heavy/strong of a plant, not like Ivy. What a happy accident! Every yr the frost kills it back, but every spring it comes up and flowers blue. Try it even next year and see what happens! :)

I'm unsure on vinca too except yours obviously wasn't annual since it came back up - yea for you! I also have a new garden that I plan to fill with winter sown flowers. Started out to be a butterfly but my dh looked at it and said, "Oh, it's an amoeba." (He has a degree in science, LOL.) So, now it's the amoeba-bed, ha! I am going to have to find some lungwort, too, as it's too amazing not to have some. Here's how the new garden was starting to look in September before it got too cold to be out there. Now it's covered in snow!

No, no, what I meant was it was marked annual for my zone. You just never know what you can pull off sometimes. I've gotten Glads to grow for about 15 yrs here also. Most everyone else pulls them up and brings them in every winter. I'm not that dedicated, lol. I put them in right near my foundation...and I mean right up against it...and they have survived no problem...even multiplied for me. Here and there, now and then, you can find micro-climates within your zone that are warmer...or you can create them if you're very observant. Look for areas around your house that are sheltered from wind and weather, places that trap heat (right now is a good time to look for them because the snow will be lower or melted in those areas!). Around the foundation is always warmer. Under the roof eaves, things like that. Under rocks that will hold heat from the sun during the day...if the rocks are close to the foundation...and in a corner that traps heat and is sheltered from the wind you may be able to go up a zone or more. Just watch in the winter if things get extremely cold, you may have to give certain plants a bit more protection...a blanket wrap for a few days, a bucket over the top, etc. You can really pull some over the top zone things off if you plan it well.

That's awesome - I'm going to try some vinca and see this year. They do sell it at the nurseries so it'll be worth a try! I can't believe you've had glads for 15 years - amazing!!! Where is Kersey, PA? I love Wellsboro - we stay in Sayre when we visit that area of the country. I love the "Grand Canyon" area of PA - fabulous!

Kersey is a little po-dunk town in the middle of nowhere, lol. Really. We have no stop lights. We do have a grocery store, called the Corner Grocery, they carry about one of each thing, but it's enough to get you through till you get to the next town. It's like something you'd see out of a movie where a waitress is working in a little one horse town and a knight in shining armor comes and rescues her (where's my knight, by the way???). I just Googled for the population here and it says it's 3500, but I don't believe it. I'd say more like 2500 at best. I live "in town"...which is a laugh. I live on the main st in town. It's probably comparable to a real social butterflies driveway in your area, LOL!

I like it here tho. Sometimes the smallness can drive me a bit batty, but overall it's nice. People are nice, friendly, they look out for one another. Everyone knows everyone and their business...you can't escape that in a small town...but that's not always bad either.

I'm a transplant here, from another small town about 15 miles away. I moved in right before winter and haven't gotten to chat much with the neighbors...so they don't know my business yet. The girl at the convenience store keeps asking me questions, trying to figure out where I'm from and what's up with me. I like to keep her guessing, just for fun. It's amazing what they can get out of you in a 30 second transaction! In a few months they'll know my whole life story (for real) and then they'll accept me...so it goes in a small town.

But in Kersey we have a bowling alley (that really serves as a bar, lol), an actual bar, the grocery store, 2 schools (don't know how they are supported??), a few churches, a restaurant (that I haven't visited yet), a car wash (there's a joke that every one in Kersey dives red cars..yes, mine is red), and for some reason Kersey seems to be the HQ of the local area for volunteer and charity orgs, don't know why that is, but it is. There is a HUGE soccer field here for the kids. I mean HUGE, playgrounds attached to it, ballfields attached, very nice place and it's all decorated for Christmas. They do a lot for the kids here. There's also a lot of small factories here, machine shop and powdered/pressed metal type places (a lot of them took a bad hit when the economy dumped).

Kersey is an "in between" town. It's in between two other towns, about 10 minutes from either one...those are the towns where you get what you need. Kersey is being built up with lots of homes...well, it was until recently...and was/is an expensive place to buy property. You can live here "in town" without having town coming down your throat...but have most of what you need within a 10 minute drive. You can go out further from "town" in Kersey and have a very quiet, woodsy setting. Lots of folks around here have farms, horses and cattle.

So, that's more than you ever wanted to know about Kersey, PA. Guess I got to rambling there, sorry. Sometime I'll tell you about where my DBF lives. Now THAT is in the woods!!! He has elk in his yard all the time.

Oh my goodness, Heatherjoy, it sounds like a sweet place to live. I think it's funny you're keepikng the clerk guessing. So, your boyfriend really lives in the boonies and has elk in his yard. That is so cool, I'd love that. We live in a typical neighborhood which I really love, but sometimes I wish we had more privacy. Then I think, "three miles to the mall" and ten to Menard's and Lowe's, so I'm happy, LOL!