land masking plant are used to create pathways , prevent grease erosion , and create an interesting and unique landscape painting . A earth top plant is any works that is a low - growing industrial plant that can be utilized to comprehend a large area , cater carpet - like coverage of the landscape .
Best Time to Plant Ground Cover Plants in Alabama
In Alabama , you should contrive to engraft your basis cover plants 6 workweek before the first frost of the free fall time of year . set the dirt for planting is leisurely . Simply till the soil in the area where you want to embed / cover , compost , add peat moss , or 3 inch of soil conditioner . you could bring fertilizers if necessary , depending on the quality of the grime . After planting your chosen footing back plant , piss thoroughly , and cover with close to 2 inches of soil .
Alabama has a semitropical climate , signify the summer are extremely hot and the winters are mild . If you reside in Alabama , it is authoritative to choose land cover plants that can address the utmost summertime heating plant .
Best Ground Cover Plants for Alabama Gardens
1 . Bugleweed
Bugleweed is a creeping perennial that bears grim and purple flowers . Sometimes referred to as land pine , bugle attain a pinnacle of 4 to 8 column inch . The works tolerates mud and other inadequate dirt types but does best in a moist , ample , well - drained planting site . This plant boom in partial sun to shade .
As a creeping perennial , Bugleweed will return every year and retain to expand further and further each time it reappears . Bugleweed blooms from May to June , so the best time to establish Bugleweed is 6 weeks before the first fall Robert Lee Frost in Alabama .
2 . day lily
Daylilies are flower ground cover plant that bears orangish and yellow flowers . daylily most usually begin blooming in June and July , but there are several variety of Daylily , some of which bloom earlier . Most Daylily plants will keep on to blossom through September , so you will have a beautiful plant in your garden as fall start . This flora is a perennial that expire in the winter but returns in the outpouring . If you are planning to imbed Daylilies , it is important to allow the flora with full sun for the best growth . Daylilies also reach a height of 24 to 36 inch tall .
3 . Dwarf Mondo Grass
Dwarf Mondo Grass is a smaller version of the pop Mondo Grass plant . This plant typically give a height of 4 to 6 inches and 8 inches wide . Dwarf Mondo Grass is sodding for edgeways and pathways but should only be planted in areas where you want full land reportage . While Dwarf Mondo Grass takes longer to spread than its non - dwarf counterpart , this plant can clog up out and overtake other plants . This plant flourish in areas with moist garden soil and permeate Lord’s Day to full shade . Dwarf Mondo Grass is an evergreen perennial , so it will not die in the winter month .
4 . Golden Stonecrop
Golden Stonecrop flourish in hot , humid conditions with very little water . This drouth - patient of plant produces small yellow flowers and reaches a pinnacle of 4 in . If you have a job with weeds , Golden Stonecrop will be a welcomed accession to your garden as it is a weed - smothering plant . Thanks to its high heat tolerance , Golden Stonecrop thrives in full sunshine and spreads quickly — often spreading 12 plus inches in one spring up time of year . In increase to smothering weeds and tolerating heat , this plant also tolerates foot traffic and piteous soil .
5 . Shore Juniper
This evergreen works reaches a tiptop of up to 24 column inch . Shore Juniper come in a few smorgasbord and is a low - rise , dense plant perfect for ground book binding . While Shore Juniper does best in full Dominicus , it is also tolerant of nicety . Thanks to this plant life ’s love life of the sun , it is drought patient of . This plant has an fair growing rate of 6 to 8 inches per time of year and takes around 10 eld to gain its full size . A full - size Shore Juniper plant is around 24 inches marvellous and 6 feet wide .
6 . Blue Rug Juniper
Blue Rug Juniper is another crawl evergreen plant plant . Unlike Shore Juniper , this Juniper plant strive a height of 12 inch . Blue Rug Juniper , as the name suggests , creates a rug - comparable undercoat back in your garden . The maturation rate of Blue Rug Juniper is 6 to 12 inches per yr . The full spread of this plant is 5 to 6 feet upon reaching its full size of it . Although this is a dense , low - maturate plant , it does produce a dark blue fruit .
7 . Strawberry Begonia
This industrial plant does do best in partial to full shadowiness , so this is something to consider if your garden does n’t receive much specter , specially in the summertime month . Strawberry Begonia is most commonly planted in flower bed , as borders , in rock garden , and plantation owner boxwood . Strawberry Begonia is a scummy - upkeep plant that reach out a full size of 6 to 8 inches tall and 12 to 24 inch wide-eyed . This plant is a recurrent , rejoin each blooming season , and abide small white peak in the leaping .
8 . cringe Phlox
Creeping Phlox is an evergreen perennial that bear flowers in the spring and other summertime months . This works does best in full sun to fond nicety , needing around 4 hr of unmediated sunlight per Clarence Day . Compared to other ground back plants , Creeping Phlox spreads at a fairly slow charge per unit of 1 inch per class . Upon reaching full maturity , this plant will be 3 to 8 inch tall and 9 to 24 inches all-embracing . creep Phlox is first-class for preventing soil erosion and is drouth tolerant when planted in well - drained grease . In addition to being a slap-up ground screening plant , this industrial plant produces heyday in a variety of colors like pinkish , lavender , white-hot , bluish - purpleness , and red .
9 . Candytuft
Candytuft is a perennial that behave beautiful white-hot flowers in the springtime . This works prefers full sun but support partial refinement . Candytufts have a full sizing of 6 to 8 inches tall and 12 to 35 inches extensive . The maturation pace of this plant life is moderate , but the plant often requires 5 to 10 years to get through full maturity . Candytuft is a hardy plant but dies back to basis level each wintertime .
10 . Groundcover Roses
Groundcover Roses are trailing , spreading , perennial shrub with showy leaves and prickly stem . A groundcover rose plant can reach 1 to 3 feet in tiptop and around 4 feet in width . These industrial plant , like received rose , come in a smorgasbord of colour , like reddish , orange , royal , white , pinkish , and yellow . They take full sun , intend at least 6 60 minutes of lineal sunlight per day . This plant support bloom from spring to late autumn , but if the plant is not in full sun , fewer blossom will bloom for the season .
11 . recognise Deadnettle
Spotted Deadnettle is a recurrent , trailing vine . blob Deadnettle , also called Spotted Henbit , mature best in full to partial tint . The flora will not necessitate much water if it is grown in full shadowiness . This , along with its resistance to cervid , makes it a prime choice in many garden . The most usual type of Spotted Deadnettle , the Purple Dragon , produces stunning purple flowers . However , the Spotted Deadnettle comes in a few varieties and can support snowy , pink , majestic , mauve , and pinkish - purplish flowers . The Spotted Deadnettle prime in the late outpouring , typically from May to June .
12 . Southern Shield Fern
The Southern Shield Fern is aboriginal to the South Carolina to Florida domain of the US . This fern is noted for its bright dark-green arching frond and resistance to deer . In balmy climate , this fern is evergreen . A Southern Shield Fern does best in partial to full tad , grow up to 36 inches in height . The low criminal maintenance of this fern make it a good choice for many habitation gardens and landscapes . You will often see the Southern Shield Fern used as solid ground cover , borders , edgeways , and accents .
13 . Monkey Grass
The various type of Monkey Grass fall into 2 categories : Liriope and Ophiopogon . If you are reckon for a ground cover song plant , you ’ll want to select a Liriope type of Monkey Grass . This priming coat cover version form of Monkey Grass prefers full Lord’s Day to full shade and is n’t picky about filth type . Monkey Grass typically reaches its ripe spread , which is 1 to 2 foot wide , within 1 to 2 years . This plant does yield violet flowers . These flowers bloom from July to August .
14 . Partridge Berry
The Partridge Berry plant life is an evergreen perennial that produces red berries in the winter months . Partridge Berry is aboriginal to North America , get in the gloomy 48 states in dry to moist woodland areas . This industrial plant does best in locations with full to partial shade and in undisturbed locations . Partridge Berry is sensitive to disturbance like foot traffic and demand a moist , copious soil surroundings . This plant maturate to a meridian of more or less 1 to 2 inches and blooms from May through October , bearing white , pink , or purple flowers . The Berry from the Partridge Berry plant are eatable , although not very tasty .
15 . St. John ’s Wort
St. John ’s Wort , sometimes referred to as Aaron ’s Beard , is a creeping semievergreen plant . In other summer , the plant take over yellow flowers that are close to 2 to 3 inch in diameter . As downslope rolls around , the leaves of St. John ’s Wort will turn red . St. John ’s Wort is a semievergreen industrial plant because , in modest climates , it will last through the wintertime . Due to the size of it of the plant , it is not recommended for little gardens . St. John ’s Wort reaches a matured size of 12 to 18 column inch in height and 24 inch wide . St. John ’s Wort choose full sunshine to partial shade . The plant life does best in well - run out grease and demand an average amount of water .
Bottom Line
If you are project to vamp up your garden for next spring and summer and lodge in in Alabama , add ground covering plants is a great way to do so . The 15 ground cover plants listed above are large options for Alabama gardens .
It is important to select plants whose needs can be met by your clime and current garden . garden with more sun will do best with full Sunday to partial sun thriving plants as opposed to full refinement ground cover song plants . to boot , if your garden already has mainly low - sustenance plants , it is best to opt low - maintenance ground masking plant .
No matter which dry land cover plant life you take for your garden , you will have a beautiful lucullan arena of undercoat cover version or a gorgeous nerve tract . Many of these ground covering plants bear flowers in the saltation and summer , adding interestingness to your landscape painting and garden area . In accession , these gorgeous footing cover plants are perennial , so you will only want to engraft them once to bask them for year to come .
