Hello all,
My new home features a small-ish area along the perimeter where there is some beautiful ground cover growing, but not really thriving (see the picture; I think it's called snow on the mountain, or something along those lines).
There is another area around the base of a pine....esque tree where I cleared out a mess of myrtle, crabgrass, and a few other types of ground cover. I would love to populate this area with the snow on the mountain ground cover, but I have no idea if it would be able to thrive near that tree and what the transplanting procedure would be like.
Any thoughts or tips would be appreciated. If the ground cover cannot thrive near that tree, is there anything I could use to fill in that space that would last near the tree?
While I'm at it, any tips on keeping that nearby Myrtle patch I left looking fresh and organized would be greatly appreciated. I love the look of the Myrtle leaves, but it can look like a big mess when those vines it uses to expand get everywhere.
Thanks!
Matt
[img]https://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u481/JustOneWillingSoul/Fall%20Planting/GroundCover.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u481/JustOneWillingSoul/Fall%20Planting/GroundCoverPotentialLocation.jpg[/img]
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JustOneWillingSoul
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- Location: Nashua, NH
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
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The bishop's weed (aka snow on the mountain, goutweed) will transplant easily and handle shade well. It is a fast, vigorous grower, I.e. aggressive and invasive:
"A fast-growing plant, it's also easy to care for and tolerates poor soil and shady conditions where little else will grow. Use it with caution in beds and borders, though because it can become invasive and even invade lawns."
from bhg.com
It's a toss up which is more invasive the vinca/myrtle or the bishop's weed, but probably the vinca is worse. If it were me, I'd just rip it out. But I'm not sure I'd put the bishop's weed in (there is a reason it has weed in the name!). You could look for some native shade ground covers, wild ginger and green and gold are a couple off the top of my head.
"A fast-growing plant, it's also easy to care for and tolerates poor soil and shady conditions where little else will grow. Use it with caution in beds and borders, though because it can become invasive and even invade lawns."
from bhg.com
It's a toss up which is more invasive the vinca/myrtle or the bishop's weed, but probably the vinca is worse. If it were me, I'd just rip it out. But I'm not sure I'd put the bishop's weed in (there is a reason it has weed in the name!). You could look for some native shade ground covers, wild ginger and green and gold are a couple off the top of my head.
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JustOneWillingSoul
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Thanks a bunch for the advice! When you have "invasive" ground covers like these two, is the issue with them more so a matter of needing to be diligent in controlling them, or is it more serious, like they inherently do harm to other things in the surrounding areas regardless of how carefully one monitors their sprawl?rainbowgardener wrote:The bishop's weed (aka snow on the mountain, goutweed) will transplant easily and handle shade well. It is a fast, vigorous grower, I.e. aggressive and invasive:
"A fast-growing plant, it's also easy to care for and tolerates poor soil and shady conditions where little else will grow. Use it with caution in beds and borders, though because it can become invasive and even invade lawns."
from bhg.com
It's a toss up which is more invasive the vinca/myrtle or the bishop's weed, but probably the vinca is worse. If it were me, I'd just rip it out. But I'm not sure I'd put the bishop's weed in (there is a reason it has weed in the name!). You could look for some native shade ground covers, wild ginger and green and gold are a couple off the top of my head.
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
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- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Well, that's a somewhat tricky question. If you could keep it carefully controlled, then almost by definition, it couldn't really harm "surrounding areas." But:
1) it is VERY difficult to keep them controlled. Both of these plants spread several different ways: by underground roots/rhizomes, by being able to root from any stem that touches the ground, so they can spread over ground as well as under, AND by seed. Even if you are controlling all the roots and stems, it's hard to control seeds, that birds might pick up, etc. And just controlling all the roots and stems is a big job you will have to do for the rest of your life and commit your descendants or whoever buys the house from you to doing in perpetuity.
2) assuming you succeed in all of the above and manage to keep them confined to the places you want them, then they are not harming "surrounding areas," but they are replacing something in your yard that could have habitat value. Part of what it means to be non-native is that it is of no use to local bees, birds, butterflies, or leaf eating creatures (the leaf eaters are important because they are the base of many food chains).
The vinca is aka Flower-of-Death because it smothers forests.
Here's a little piece about the snow on the mountain/ bishop's weed:
Also known as Goutweed, it wreaks havoc in moist, partly shaded woodlands and disturbed areas. It forms a dense mat that prohibits other plants from establishing.
This trait is especially harmful in natural wooded areas where it outcompetes native plants. Because of this, many native woodland plants are now highly endangered.
I've been attempting to rid my property of this plant since 2001 when I first moved in. It feels like a losing battle because it returns with a vengeance especially after the rain. We pull, and we pull, and then we pull some more. But it always comes back.
that's because Bishop Weed not only spreads by seed, it also spreads by underground runners. If you're pulling but don't get every last piece of those runners out of the ground, it will pop up again almost immediately.
My neighbor across the street is the head propagator for Morris Arboretum. Her garden is her own beautiful private botanic garden. Really, it's stunning! But she has been battling Goutweed for the 30 years she’s lived in her house. Trust me, she REALLY hates this plant!
...
It is banned for sale in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, and is considered a noxious pest from Eastern Canad to Georgia and into the midwest, plus is invasive in the Pacific Northwest.
A much better alternative to this noxious, invasive plant is the native Golden Alexanders (Zizea aurea), in the same family as Bishop Weed, but a much gentler inhabitant of native ecosystems, and a host plant for Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars.
https://www.ecosystemgardening.com/bishop-weed-most-hated-plants.html
If you have acidic soil, there are a number of other really nice native shade ground covers: hepatica, partridge berry, wintergreen, bunchberry.
1) it is VERY difficult to keep them controlled. Both of these plants spread several different ways: by underground roots/rhizomes, by being able to root from any stem that touches the ground, so they can spread over ground as well as under, AND by seed. Even if you are controlling all the roots and stems, it's hard to control seeds, that birds might pick up, etc. And just controlling all the roots and stems is a big job you will have to do for the rest of your life and commit your descendants or whoever buys the house from you to doing in perpetuity.
2) assuming you succeed in all of the above and manage to keep them confined to the places you want them, then they are not harming "surrounding areas," but they are replacing something in your yard that could have habitat value. Part of what it means to be non-native is that it is of no use to local bees, birds, butterflies, or leaf eating creatures (the leaf eaters are important because they are the base of many food chains).
The vinca is aka Flower-of-Death because it smothers forests.
Here's a little piece about the snow on the mountain/ bishop's weed:
Also known as Goutweed, it wreaks havoc in moist, partly shaded woodlands and disturbed areas. It forms a dense mat that prohibits other plants from establishing.
This trait is especially harmful in natural wooded areas where it outcompetes native plants. Because of this, many native woodland plants are now highly endangered.
I've been attempting to rid my property of this plant since 2001 when I first moved in. It feels like a losing battle because it returns with a vengeance especially after the rain. We pull, and we pull, and then we pull some more. But it always comes back.
that's because Bishop Weed not only spreads by seed, it also spreads by underground runners. If you're pulling but don't get every last piece of those runners out of the ground, it will pop up again almost immediately.
My neighbor across the street is the head propagator for Morris Arboretum. Her garden is her own beautiful private botanic garden. Really, it's stunning! But she has been battling Goutweed for the 30 years she’s lived in her house. Trust me, she REALLY hates this plant!
...
It is banned for sale in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, and is considered a noxious pest from Eastern Canad to Georgia and into the midwest, plus is invasive in the Pacific Northwest.
A much better alternative to this noxious, invasive plant is the native Golden Alexanders (Zizea aurea), in the same family as Bishop Weed, but a much gentler inhabitant of native ecosystems, and a host plant for Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars.
https://www.ecosystemgardening.com/bishop-weed-most-hated-plants.html
If you have acidic soil, there are a number of other really nice native shade ground covers: hepatica, partridge berry, wintergreen, bunchberry.
I have somewhat the same problem, trying to plant under a large fir tree. So far these sre the things that have done well.
Heuchera (coral bells)
Lady's Mantle
Astilbe
Violas
Lamium - these will spread and make a good ground cover. The hybrid's
doesn't seem to be invasive.
You will need to water more often as the tree roots are established and will take the water .
Heuchera (coral bells)
Lady's Mantle
Astilbe
Violas
Lamium - these will spread and make a good ground cover. The hybrid's
doesn't seem to be invasive.
You will need to water more often as the tree roots are established and will take the water .
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Any more thoughts? Around here, we do try to avoid recommending plants that are on the invasive species lists:
https://sites.google.com/a/rsu5.org/inv ... podagraria
Noxious Weed Information:
Aegopodium podagraria L.
This plant is listed by the U.S. federal government or a state. Common names are from state and federal lists. Click on a place name to get a complete noxious weed list for that location, or click here for a composite list of all Federal and State Noxious Weeds.
Connecticut:
goutweed Invasive, banned
Massachusetts:
Bishop's goutweed, bishop's weed, goutweed Prohibited
Vermont:
goutweed Class B noxious weed
https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=AEPO&mapType=nativity&photoID=aepo_001_avd.tif
https://sites.google.com/a/rsu5.org/inv ... podagraria
Noxious Weed Information:
Aegopodium podagraria L.
This plant is listed by the U.S. federal government or a state. Common names are from state and federal lists. Click on a place name to get a complete noxious weed list for that location, or click here for a composite list of all Federal and State Noxious Weeds.
Connecticut:
goutweed Invasive, banned
Massachusetts:
Bishop's goutweed, bishop's weed, goutweed Prohibited
Vermont:
goutweed Class B noxious weed
https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=AEPO&mapType=nativity&photoID=aepo_001_avd.tif