Evergreen Ground Covers for the Southwest

From erosion management to weed suppression, floor covers play an vital function within the backyard. They profit neighboring vegetation by shading the bottom, which helps hold soil cool and reduces moisture loss to evaporation. Many floor covers present nectar to pollinators and shelter ground-dwelling bugs and vertebrates. From an aesthetic standpoint, floor covers lend gardens a completed look. They can be utilized to emphasise focal factors or to melt transitions between backyard components. Evergreen floor covers present these providers all yr lengthy, whereas making a bridge from one season to the subsequent. Listed below are a number of fabulous evergreen floor covers for the Southwest.

Select from these xeriscape favorites for decent, dry, and sunny areas

Due to the advantages they supply, floor covers have turn out to be staples of xeric and water-wise gardens. Among the many hottest of those is hardy ice plant (Delosperma cooperi and cvs., Zones 6–10), a ground-hugging succulent that grows simply 3 to six inches tall and spreads as much as 2 toes extensive. Gardeners and pollinators alike adore the good magenta pink blooms, which cowl vegetation from late spring by summer time. A number of cultivars and hybrids can be found with various flower colours.

Silver-edged horehound (Marrubium rotundifolium, Zones 4–9) makes a carpet of soppy, wooly foliage that lightly mounds as much as 10 inches tall and spreads 1 to 2 toes extensive. The foliage is white on the underside, and the leaf edges curl as much as give the sunshine inexperienced topsides a silver lining. Most gardeners select to shear off the flowers, that are insignificant.

Pair silver-edged horehound with the germander sage (Salvia chamaedryoides and cvs., Zones 7–10), a extra upright floor cowl with positive silver-green foliage and vibrant blue blooms that entice butterflies and hummingbirds. Crops bloom over a protracted interval, from late spring by fall. This semi-woody perennial is nice for protecting floor; it spreads 3 to 4 toes extensive whereas sustaining a peak of 1 to 2 toes.

All three of those floor covers thrive in scorching, dry websites in full solar. They’re tailored to sandy or rocky soils and require glorious drainage. As soon as established, these are hardy, drought-tolerant picks.

Contemplate these native floor covers for difficult websites

Native vegetation usually present the very best answer for difficult areas. A wide range of species make glorious evergreen floor covers. Damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana, Zones 7–11) has been gaining reputation all through the Southwest due to its spectacular floral shows. Blooming profusely in spring and fall, with sporadic blooms in the course of the warmth of summer time, damianita creates a golden carpet when planted in mass. Crops develop as much as 2 toes tall and extensive and are extraordinarily drought tolerant. For the very best efficiency, place damianita in full solar and well-drained soil.

Orange Carpet^® creeping hummingbird trumpet (Zauschneria garrettii ‘PWWG01S’, Zones 5–9) is a local cultivar with a low-growing, trailing behavior. Additionally generally referred to as California fuchsia, this subshrub species spreads like a floor cowl, forming a unfastened mat of gently arching foliage. Orange Carpet^® options good red-orange blooms that open mid to late summer time and entice hummingbirds to the backyard. Water throughout flowering encourages further blooms. Give this plant full solar to partial shade and good drainage, and you’ll be handsomely rewarded.

Not all floor covers are petite. Creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis and cvs., Zones 3–9) is broadly planted as a floor cowl, and for good purpose: It covers a whole lot of area. Spreading 5 to eight toes extensive but reaching solely 12 to 18 inches tall, creeping juniper excels at stabilizing slopes and tackling erosion. Although native to Canada and the northern United States, this needled evergreen is warmth and drought tolerant as soon as established. It grows naturally in sandy or rocky soils and requires full solar and good drainage.

One other native shrub, creeping mahonia (Berberis repens and cvs., syn. Mahonia repens and cvs., Zones 5–9) gives glorious erosion management on slopes and banks. It’s discovered primarily at increased elevations in coniferous forests. Crops unfold by stolons, which assist stabilize soil. Creeping mahonia grows 18 inches tall and extensive. With yellow blooms from mid by late spring adopted by clusters of blue-purple berries, this low-growing shrub attracts birds and different wildlife to the backyard. Plant creeping mahonia in wealthy, well-draining soil in full to partial shade.

Evergreen floor covers combine properly with deciduous varieties in addition to spring bulbs. Use them to line walkways, or plant them below shrubs and tall perennials. In areas with heavier soil, these picks work properly in rock gardens and raised planters.

—Kim Toscano is a horticulturist primarily based in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She beforehand hosted Oklahoma Gardening, a weekly PBS tv program produced by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.