Re: Ground Cover for shade? AJUGA
- To: s*@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
- Subject: Re: [SG] Ground Cover for shade? AJUGA
- From: N* S*
- Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 07:31:52 -0500
How about one of the spreading tiarellas (related to heucheras but smaller
and tougher)? Some newer kinds have nice silvery foliage, and the
bottlebrush flower spikes last for many weeks. I don't know how to get these
cheaply, though. Another tough flowering possibility--though it doesn't look
like much out of bloom--is one of the creeping woodland phlox (stolonifera),
which spread nicely without ever getting close to invasive. These also bloom
for several weeks, in spring, in blue, pink, purple, or white, and they are
quite spectacular. Primrose Path used to sell these in bulk for cheap--maybe
they'd honor a request if you contacted them.
Nancy S. (NYC, zone 6)
>Cindy, I think it is the lack of chlorophyll that makes 'Silver
>Beauty' so reluctant where its cousins are so exuberant. Often plants
>with extremely white variegated leaves are less robust. 'Silver
>Beauty' is really nice, but you have to watch its neighbors or it
>will get easily overwhelmed.
>
>Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
>mtalt@clark.net
>Editor: Gardening in Shade
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>> From: Cindy Johnson <Cidjohnson@AOL.COM>
>> Date: Thursday, March 09, 2000 12:01 AM
>>
>> That's been my experience too. I have 3 kinds, all growing in a
>rather dry
>> area under a crab apple tree: Bronze Beauty (green with bronze
>tones and
>> going gang busters), Burgundy Glow (green, pink, and white and very
>slowly
>> increasing), and Silver Beauty (green and white and standing
>still). Because
>> Bronze Beauty is mostly green and the other 2 are not, I figured
>that the
>> lack of chlorophyll makes the colorful ones weaker. Or, it could
>be
>> something totally unrelated! :o)
>>
>> Cindy Johnson
>> White Bear Lake, MN
>> zone 4a
>
>
