What is a Ground Cover?

Ground covers tend have one thing in common they tend to grow horizontally rather than vertically. Some of them hug the ground and form a dense carpet; others grow in clumps or tufts; some send out trailing stems and some are bushy in habit of growth. All of them will spread to cover the bare ground, and most of them are evergreen.

A prerequisite of a good ground cover is a profusion of leaves of good quality. Flowers appear on most plants for such a short time that they are of secondary importance. Because of their different habits of growth ground covers are propagated in different ways.

A few will grow readily from seed, but most of them are grown from root sections, layers or cuttings. Many of the trailing types send down roots as they spread across the ground and these can easily be multiplied by cutting off a piece of the stem with the roots attached. Those of bushy habit are generally propagated from cuttings.

Evergreen plants with soft growth can be in--creased by cuttings made in spring or early summer, whilst those which are deciduous are best propagated from cuttings of mature or hard wood made in late summer or early autumn.

When plants of tufty growth become too crowded lift the clump and cut down through the foliage and roots with a sharp spade or a knife and replant sections, discarding those which would overcrowd the bed. Ground covers are usually perennials, planted to keep the garden attractive without involving the trouble of replanting from season to season and year to year.