1 - Given the small size, don't worry about the period of time. After you put down the newspaper, put down about 6 inches of organic matter right on top of it, and plant directly into that.

robhuffstedtlers Suggstion is a good one,But wait maybe 2 Weeks-1 Month to allow the newspaper to decompose some.

Thanks for your help! crl

Another possible shade groundcover (though possibly invasive, as so many groundcovers are wont to be) is galium odoratum (sweet woodruff). I love this stuff! I also love the look of moss "lawns", if you've got the conditions that moss likes.

What are some good conditions for moss to grow in as I would not mind having a moss lawn? Bad thing is I have pine trees...is this good or bad?

Kelly~

Thanks for your suggestions! Moss would be great, but my yard isn't damp enough. I ended up paying someone to shovel out the grass/weeds and spread mulch. I am in the middle of planting a mix of evergreen groundcovers. I settled on pachysandra and a combination of stepables plants (they have a website at stepables.com)--mostly dwarf euonymus and green carpet. The neighborhood seems to approve and I've got my fingers crossed!

crl

I have a no-mow lawn that I put in using seed from Prairie Nursery. I know there are other seed companies that sell a similar product. I'm not sure how it would grow by you but it would be worth checking into. It's a blend of fine fescues and has a fine blade and grows a maximum of six inches and the lays down making a soft carpet. It is not a manicured lawn look by any means but suits my home very well. I do not own a lawn mower and that is wonderful because there are so many things that I would prefer to do on a Saturday morn.

Any fool proof, low maintaince, fairly rapid-growing, but not overtaking alternatives to grass? I live in a small townhouse, condo complex with VERY small plots of "lawn" in front of each of 28 units. The small Chinese Elms that were originally planted 3 years ago have now grow immensely (which is another topic for another discussion!!!) and have cast almost full shade on the lawns. Thus resulting in ugly patches of dirt with the occasional blade of grass.
We are not married to lush green lawns, and in fact, would prefer to get rid of the grass altogether. However, as many of the residents are not gardeners, whatever replaces the grass, must be tolerant of the shade, hot summers, and be fairly low maintenance. (We do have mow and blow maintenance now with our landscape company....so they are suggesting replace the lawns with another type of grass).
I have, personally, replaced my back yard with a dwarf mondo that has done very well. Are there other comparable things that could also be used? Ivy grows very well in Atlanta, but I've noticed many postings here adamentlty opposed to the intentional use ofit.Moss is not an option, as it is too dry in Atlanta.
Any info will be greatly appreciated! I go infront of the Board in September...HELP!!!

If this area is relatively isolated, vinca is very easy, very tolerant and evergreen. When I say isolated, I mean that vinca will spread and take over if the area is adjacent to your neighbors, and would need to be trimmed regularly (unless the neighbors want it too!)

As crl mentioned above, check out stepables.com. They have great descriptions of LOTS of different ground covers. If you find one that sounds good to you, post to the list and see what experience others have had with it.

My groundcover is doing very well. One of my more successful gardening ventures. I was lucky and planted in a very wet year, which has helped a lot.

The pachysandra has just started spreading in the past couple of weeks. It is the bulk of the yard because it was much cheaper. I expect it will take at least a year, probably closer to a year and a half for the pachysandra to cover well. I planted from flats, about 8 inches apart.

The stepables plants are spreading at a more rapid rate--their other advantage is that they will take some foot traffic (how much varies by plant). I planted the stepables about 12 inches apart. I planted a variety and am pleased with the tapestry effect this has created.

The Nierembergia repens (Creeping White Cup) is actually spreading too quickly to suit me--it's outgrowing things I like better. So I may take it out this fall. My favorites are Veronica repens (Creeping Speedwell)--also a fast-grower but I like it better, and Euonymus fortunei Kewensis (Dwarf Euonymus). In my experience if stepables says something is fast-growing they aren't joking.

I highly recommend the stepables website. You can do a search there for several criteria--zone, soil, sun/shtde, amount of foot traffic--and it will make recommendations. I actually bought the plants at a local nursery that sells the line.

The yard already takes less work than it did when it was grass. I do weed it once a week or so, which takes about 15 minutes--this suits me much better than mowing 2x a week and fighting weeds unsuccessfully. I suspect fall maintenance will be more difficult than it was with grass--I may have to clear fallen tree leaves by hand. But if you have a service that will blow the leaves this shouldn't be an issue.

Also, this fall I plan to plant a variety of bulbs, hopefully I'll get some nice spring color!

Good luck solving your problem!

Here is a link that might be useful: stepables

You can send stepables an email with your conditions, where you live, zone, etc and they will respond with suggestions specific to your needs.

How quickly do you need full cover? Two years ago I replaced what little grass I could get to grow in a hot,dry and shady area of my yard with Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pennsylvanica). It is native and naturally grows in areas that are dry and shady, namely upland oak woodlands. It does spread relatively slowly, but I have to admit I'm surprised by how fast it has spread. It is similar to grass, but only grows a few inches high (no mowing!)and is very attractive. It does a good job of keeping out weeds too. In the areas that it hasn't filled in yet, I have to pull some crabgrass, but the crabgrass will not grow where the sedges have filled in. Since you have a small area, it may be an option for you. There are a few mail order nurseries around that have it if you're interested.

I would watch your pachysandra and keep it only where you want it to grow. It will take over. It's an excellent ground cover and only takes a couple of years to fill in an area. I had a large maple tree in my northern faceing front yard and for 20 years everything looked great. a few ferns thrown into the group with some bulbs, a couple of azaleas, it all looked very nice. Then the village cut the maple down and everything changed, of course. no more shade. The bright sunny area now looked strange. So we changed it, boy, what a job. I calculate we probably pulled out $20,000 worth of pachysandra. even at a bargan price at wal-mart, $20,000 i'm sure. we gave it away to anyone who wanted some. everyone in town has some somewhere in their yards. anyway, pulling it was he--, roots everywhere. if you leave a tiny snip, it growns back, twice as much. We had to put gardeners cloth over the whole area to make sure it wouldn't come back because we were planting as we pulled. This is an area 30ft.x30ft. it's been 3 years now and I am still pulling pachysandra up between the new sun loving plants we have in the front yard. So just be aware. Sweet woodruff is also good and you can pull that one up without much trouble. I like it and it's in my side yard and it smells great in the spring, you can make tea out of it too. Good luck.

Daisy

Danthonia spp. or Mountain Oat grass, is shade tolerent but looses its compact character when it goes to seed in late spring. Carex spp. are varied in their forms. Many are shade dwellers and some have been offered by native plant dealers.
Dwarf Ophiopogon or Lily Turf is becoming available in quantities for evergreen mini lawns. It is uniform in height (2-3") and tolerates moderate shade and drought. Stepping stones are best if walking through it. Hidden turquoise berries are a plus. Buy a gallon pot and separate the sprigs.

This is such a usefuol post. We once had an area filled in with periwinkle (contained by cement paving). it filled in a leggy tangle about 6 inches deep and attracted spiders like crazy. It was covered with web. So not for those who are seeking dense, mossy sod like slabs. And I never got it all out. Kept coming back from the root bits. Easy to grow though! LOL!

I have a similar problem with a one time plowed vegetable garden that was allowed to go to dense creeping charlie. In this area I have it in a holding pattern by keeping it mowed. I am wondering how long roots and runners remain dormant on plants like creeping charlie and ivy. My spot is about 20 x 30 ft. Has anyone tried keeping it mowed right to the ground with a weed whacker? If no one else has tried it, I am willing to run a test for a couple years to see if the roots will die out. Ugly doesnt bother me but crawling invaders do. Ivy is also moving in from the neighboring property

Wow, this thread is almost two years old! crl, please post how the new area is doing. Some really good ideas, and now you can order direct from Stepables - and they have the larger sizes now, for quicker results. Suz