some groundcovers are so hard to keep...

13 years ago

I'm keeping several groundcovers i.e. scleranthus uniflorus, blue star creeper, all variants of baby tears, etc. and I've found that some of these are REALLY hard to keep alive for some reason.

As of now, my scleranthus uniflorus is dying and I don't know how to keep it alive. It seems like it's drying out. In between the dried out needle-like leaves, there appears to be some fuzzy moss-like fuzz that seems to be doing fine though. I watered this plant every day not knowing whether that was good or bad... I tried to keep it humid by spraying the plant in the mornings. It is planted on top of small gravel, so there should be well drainage.

I've found that I keep killing these type of plants that like good drainage. I've killed corsican mint too.

What should I do as of now? Should I leave my scleranthus uniflorus alone and let it dry out completely, or should I repot it, or should I water it more often? Any information on keeping ground covers alive will help me.

I seem to be doing fine with the baby tears and the blue star creeper. It's these other plants that require well drainage that's causing problems for me.

Any advice will help!!! Thank you!

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Comments (6)

mistascott
13 years ago
I don't know much about that plant, but the link below says New Zealand Moss is not a good choice for hot, humid summers so you may struggle to keep it healthy (assuming your summers are indeed hot and humid). Also, your soil may be too well-drained if it is only small gravel. It may need something added that can hold onto water and nutrients but still drain fairly quickly.

Here is a link that might be useful: New Zealand Moss
Gabrielle K
Original Author
13 years ago
Well, it does have some soil mixed in with the gravel. So it does have something to hold onto. I live in the southern california region, so it does get REALLY hot during the summer. But it never gets humid. I'm guessing I probably watered it too often, causing it to rot somewhere. It looked like a moss and so I probably treated like one.

Anything else I should know? Here's a picture of what it looks like now if that'll help. The pictures that I upload do come out sideways.. which I don't know why it does. In the picture, you can see the gravel. The gravel sits on top of the soil, and some more gravel is mixed in at the bottom of the soil as well.

How often should this plant be watered? Every morning? afternoon? I wish I knew better about these plants! They're just so cute!

Again, anything will help. Thanks!
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Gabrielle K
Original Author
13 years ago
Is that green moss thing growing in the center killing my plant?
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
13 years ago
If you mean the green tufts appearing at the lower edge of the pic, that's new growth. Yes, you have been grossly overwatering this plant - it wants lots of sun, excellent drainage and rather dryish conditions.
Gabrielle K
Original Author
13 years ago
I just sprayed this plant with some citrus water and I saw tiny mite-like bugs coming out of it D: Could they have been contributing to the problem as well?

I wasn't referring to the new growths, I meant the dark green coloration forming in the center. I'm guessing my overwatering caused some type of moss to suffocate this plant. Oh well, I guess I'll just try again next time : /
Gabrielle K
Original Author
13 years ago
I just sprayed this plant with some citrus water and I saw tiny mite-like bugs coming out of it D: Could they have been contributing to the problem as well?

I wasn't referring to the new growths, I meant the dark green coloration forming in the center. I'm guessing my overwatering caused some type of moss to suffocate this plant. Oh well, I guess I'll just try again next time : /