Hello,

I fell in love with Pachysandra few years ago when I lived on the east coast. I think of this plant and see a shade flowerbed lush and fully-covered with the plant - just overgrown with a dense mat of Pachysandra.

Now I have three varieties: one that I call 'Regular', and others: variegated and my beloved, first spotted at the National Arboretum in Wash. DC, looks like the "regular" one, but the leaves are so shiny that it was my "Fall-in-love-with-Pachysandra-all-over-again" moment.

Well, I moved to Chicago, which means dry hot summers and dry cold winters. Even though the plant grows well, I just never can achieve this carpet of Pachysandra. I have one planting under a linden tree, it's been there for maybe 4 years and it still is mostly mulch and bunch of pachysandra around. Not near a carpet.

I'm thinnking I need to water it and keep it moist year round, but I don't recall doing anything, and I mean NOTHING back in NJ. It grew so lush under a huge maple tree.

Should I move back to New Jersey? Or should I do something.

:-)

Thanks for your tips.

Kris