My sister bought a house in the Dallas area with a lot of mature oak trees. Any suggestions for ground cover in these shady areas? The yard is a big mud hole.
Thanks!
Connie
Shade ground cover for Texas
Golden Groundsel, Packera ovobata; http://wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PAOB6
White Avens, Geum canadense; http://wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=GECA7
Lyreleaf Sage, Salvia lyrata; http://wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=SALY2
These are all excellent perennials for shade.
Josephine.
lots of good ones to choose from
Some of the more widely available include ardisia japonica http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/60185/ and ajuga reptans http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/673/--the chocolate chip and metallica crispa varieties aren't as invasive.
I have had good success with wild woodland strawberries http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1013/ in deep shade (they spread very fast)
Thanks so much! I'll pass it along...
Much of Texas is a big mud hole right now - we've had a super wet fall, winter, and spring. She might look to see if there are any drip areas - those big oaks sometimes have branches that act like gutters, and direct enough water down at one place to start a little erosion. So get some rocks or something in there. Also, the shade is probably not uniform, so it might not be the same answer for the whole area - some of it might be deep solid shade, like from a building, and some might be closer to dappled or partial. She can plan different plantings in the idenfitiable problem areas, but a mix of species in general will let the plants themselves sort out who grows the very best where.
I would stick with natives, just because they generally take less fooling with. I have false dayflower, followed by inland sea oats in much of mine. (Some other commelina up in N Texas, I think - widows tears, several varieties get called.) I also have some pigeonberry, and the birds have always added some pequin and lantana by mid-summer. I just put out some skullcap, violets, boneset, and something else I forget right now, all of those closer to the dappled edges of the shade.
Red columbine is a standard recommendation. Straggler daisy (or lawnflower) some people think of as a weed, but it's green, has flowers, stands up to traffic and mowing, etc - all good groundcover characteristics. Sedges similarly do well in shade, but can be a little on that weed/wildflower line. Both of those would address the mudhole characteristic quickly.
Prairie mallow and wild foxglove are too big to really pass for groundcover, but they should be fine in shade.
There are shade grasses, too. You won't get a solid St. Augustine effect - which you wouldn't want, because then the grass is out-competing the tree - but sideouts grama (our state grass) should be ok.
Thanks realbirdlady! Very helpful tips.
Connie