Can Your Ground Cover Do This?

Spring is happening, and one of our favorite native ground covers is ready to impress.

Packera aurea (formerly classified botanically as Senecio aureus) is also known by the common names Golden Groundsel, Golden Ragwort, and Butterweed. It’s hard to think of a ground cover that can match Packera for flower power. In April, it sends up flower stalks that stand 12 to 24 inches above the heart-shaped leaves. By early May, it bursts into bloom with bright yellow daisy-like flowers that last up to two months. It is simply stunning!

Packera just starting to bloom in April
The full razzle-dazzle at the Nature Center in May

When the bloom finally finishes, you can cut back the flower stalks or leave them standing. Allowing the seeds to ripen and fall will keep the plant colony fresh. The bright green leaves of Packera form a weed-suppressing mat that looks good all summer and well into the fall. Packera is vigorous, spreading by shallow runners, and will fill in quickly where it is happy, but it is also easy to control. Transplanted divisions do well if you want to share extras with friends.

Packera in late June with flower stalks remaining

Packera is an effective and attractive ground cover even when it’s not in bloom. The foliage will fill in under shrubs and around tall perennials, but it can overwhelm shorter plants unless you trim it back. Packera is semi-evergreen, and will continue covering the ground throughout the winter, even under snowfall.

Looking good in late September
Packera is still mostly green in December

Hardy in zones 3 through 9, Packera’s native range extends from the upper Midwest throughout the Eastern US. It naturally occurs at the edges of moist woodlands and in wet meadows. It is happy in light shade or part sun, but it can take full sun as long as there is adequate soil moisture. It prefers rich acidic soil.

Packera is very valuable to native bees, especially to small cuckoo and halictid bees who benefit from its early supply of pollen and nectar. The plant is not at all attractive to deer. This time of year, you can find Packera for sale at good nurseries, native plant sales, and on line.

So, are you among the many in our region who use non-native ground covers like pachysandra, ivy, or vinca? If so, we just have to ask…

Can your ground cover do this?

THIS BLOG IS AUTHORED WEEKLY BY CATHY LUDDEN, CONSERVATIONIST AND NATIVE PLANT EDUCATOR; AND BOARD MEMBER, GREENBURGH NATURE CENTER. FOLLOW CATHY ON INSTAGRAM FOR MORE PHOTOS AND GARDENING TIPS @CATHYLUDDEN.

Forever Green: Native Groundcovers That Stay All Winter

Given our recent weather, you may well ask, “why should I care whether a ground cover is green if it’s under a foot of snow”? Fair question! 

In our milder winters, when snow comes and goes, evergreen groundcovers do offer structure and winter interest in the garden. And they benefit birds and small mammals, providing cover from predators and shelter from icy winds. But not so with ivy or pachysandra! Both are invasive, non-native plants that must be prevented from running into wooded areas where they smother everything! Fortunately, there are native evergreen groundcovers much better suited to our landscapes and helpful, rather than harmful, to the ecosystem.

We recently described Leucothoe, a native evergreen that can replace pachysandra as a ground cover under trees and shrubs and in wooded areas.

Another evergreen woodland plant we love is Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides). Not truly a groundcover, because it stays in place rather than spreading itself around, Christmas fern can be planted densely to fill in a shady area. Deer won’t eat it, and it’s such a pleasure to see a green fern in the dead of winter.

Evergreen Christmas fern brightens the winter landscape

Perhaps the best known native evergreen groundcover in our region is Creeping Juniper (Juniperis horizontalis). Juniper is a versatile shrub that provides significant value for wildlife year-round. Its dense branches provide good hiding places, and its berries feed the birds. It prefers dry soil and full sun, but it tolerates some shade as long as the soil is well-drained. It spreads at a moderate rate, and effectively suppresses weeds. Juniper is also tough — it handles being buried by snowplow build-up, even with road salt! It’s a good choice for curb-side plantings and along sidewalks and driveways.

Creeping Juniper is attractive all winter along a property line

You can see another of our favorite evergreen groundcovers in the foundation planting at the Nature Center’s Manor House. Carex laxiculmis ‘Hobb,’ often sold as ‘Bunny Blue’ sedge, is a great groundcover for shade. It’s maybe more “everblue” than evergreen, so its eye-catching color is striking around and under shrubs, and even under shade trees. It will live happily with dense tree roots and spread itself slowly by short runners that sprout new little plants over time. It holds its blue-green strappy leaves all winter long. You don’t have to cut it back in the spring, but if it looks a bit ragged, you can trim the old leaves before new growth begins. Like most grasses and sedges, it is avoided by deer.

‘Bunny Blue’ sedge in winter under shrubs at the Manor House

Plant ‘Bunny Blue’ sedge with other native shade-lovers for a mix of textures. When the other plants go dormant in the fall, ‘Bunny Blue’ will hold the spot until they return

‘Bunny Blue’ sedge in summer in with Maidenhair Fern and Wild Canadian Ginger 

For a sunny area, we like Waldsteinia (or Geum) fragaroides, commonly called “Barren Strawberry” because its leaves look similar to strawberry, but it doesn’t bear fruit. Waldsteinia is a deer-resistant evergreen groundcover that likes sunny dry sites and blooms in early spring with bright yellow flowers. It only gets a few inches tall, so it’s great at the front of a flower bed. We planted it last year at the very front of the Nature Center’s new Pollinator Garden. Be sure to come see it bloom this spring!

Spring growth covers bronzed winter foliage of Waldsteinia

Waldsteinia spreads slowly by shallow runners. Use it around a mailbox or lamp post, or along a sunny path. Snow cover and freezing cold do not bother it, and it is hardy to Zone 4. Its leaves may turn bronze by late winter, but new growth will cover the old in spring and form a weed-suppressing mat. And when April showers bring May flowers, you’ll want to be there.

Waldsteinia blooms in late April to early May

This blog is authored weekly by Cathy Ludden, conservationist and native plant educator; and Board Member, Greenburgh Nature Center. Follow Cathy on Instagram for more photos and gardening tips @cathyludden.