Re: ground cover
- To: perennials@mallorn.com
- Subject: Re: ground cover
- From: D* S*
- Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 21:54:58 -0400
On Wed, 19 Jul 2000 18:31:42 CDT "Nancy Lowe" <nlowe@hotmail.com> writes:
> Actually, Marge, I think that's the one I bought in gallon pots and
> planted
> a half dozen or so...no luck! Right now, I'm going with the
> pennyroyal. I
> bought a small pot of it a couple of years ago, and it looked like
> it really
> wanted to spread out. So, I figured bounded by the house and the
> driveway,
> it could just go to town. It's not particularly attractive (my
> husband
> thought it was a weed, and wanted to spray it with Roundup) but it's
> green!
Nancy --
I tried pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) as a groundcover but found that it
actually gets 12"-14" tall when in bloom. I was expecting it to be more
of a ground-hugger. This is in a full sun bed with average soil and
watering. You're right, as mints go it's rather scraggly, not the
fullness of, say, spearmint. Smells wonderful, though, and is reputed to
repel cats.
The lawn lovers will scream and wail, but my favorite groundcover for sun
or shade remains ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea). It's evergreen, stays
low, has pretty flowers in the spring, withstands light foot traffic, and
although a robust grower is relatively easy to control and, for all the
years I've been using it, has never detrimentally overwhelmed anything.
There are even a few different variegated cultivars which add interest to
dark corners.
Dean Sliger
Warren, Michigan, USA
Zone 6B
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