Well, mulch doesn't hinder much here. Give your plants some time. Anything that would have spread all over the place would be a galloping Gertie and you certainly don't want galloping Gerties that are going to take over the world.

When were these plants planted? Except for annuals, which have only a single growing season to complete their entire life cycle, perennial plants like groundcovers need time to establish before they they start a significant spread. And groundcovers spread by different means - those that spread rhizomatously are not fazed at all by mulches, even thick ones. But those that root as they go or self seed may be slowed by a lot of mulch. Since both your choices fit within this second category, their development could be slowed by a heavy mulch but maybe you just need to give them sufficient time to settle in and establish.

They were all planted just this summer. The most established have been there a couple of months. Some have been there less time. I'm not sure what kind of mulch it was that I used (I looked at the bag but didn't see any words that sounded specific), but I say it is neither fine nor coarse. I didn't use any of the big chunks.

If just planted this summer, it is far to soon to see much growth. The plants are busy getting established and developing a good root system. You can expect to see some decent growth next season. My neighbor's slope fully planted with groundcovers 3 summers ago has only just this season developed a full coverage.......establishment takes time.

I plant most groundcovers on small mounds and mulch deeply between them. It keeps the weeds down until the groundcovers get established.

Mike