ground cover for south facing slope

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

I have a south facing steep slope that needs lots of fast growing ground cover. We live in the pacific northwest and this slope has the usual suspect weeds as well as horsetails and wild blackberry.

what ground cover do you recommend? And how do you mulch a large steep slope to prevent weeds from emerging?

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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

8 years ago

I know of no groundcover that will outcompete Himalayan blackberries and horsetails. Except possibly English ivy and you sure don't want to plant that!! You will need to remove them as completely as possible before planting anything else, otherwise your efforts and $$ are just wasted.

If it can be contained to the slope, St. John's wort spreads fast and needs minimal attention. But is not completely weed suppressing....few GC's are. Otherwise, look at cotoneaster, Rubus calycinoides, Lonicera pileata and if in full sun, Ceanothus gloriosus. FWIW, because of its density and ability to layer on top of itself, the lonicera is the best at controlling weeds.......with the rubus coming in second. But these will not spread as fast as the SJW.

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Comments (10)

rawegg
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you for those suggestions! I had some time today and got some fragaria chiloensis and cotoneaster dammeri in my small car so I'll need to go back again. Do you think I can mix in rubies calycinoides? Will they 'fight' with each other? Loncera pileata is not available at the usual nursery I go to, will look out for this.

Should I mulch first or plant the ground covers first?
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
The fragaria spreads fast but grows somewhat sparsely - it makes a lousy weed suppressant!! Personally, I wouldn't mix them. One will always outgrow the other and it will eventually disappear. Of the choices, go with the rubus first, second choice the cotoneaster. But I would hunt down the lonicera if I could :-)

Mulch after planting.
rawegg
Original Author
8 years ago
oh shoot. I got 4 flats of fragaria chiloensis (so 72 x 4" pots)..... I'll space them closer together...? And I'll put them to a less weedy spot....
User
8 years ago
Sorry to hijack this post, We are needing ground cover also in PNW. I just pulled out strawberries plant as a ground cover because the rats are hiding in them. What are the good option (we got some thyme over the weekend from HD) We like to be able to walk over them (barefoot if possible). Looks like you are in PNW, where is the best place to purchase them?

Thanks in advance.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
Is this for full sun as well? Not too many common groundcovers - other than a lawn - can be walked on barefoot comfortably :-) Brass buttons (Leptinella squalida) or irish or Scotch moss could work. But if a large area, you would need a lot of plants or be quite patient, as these are not the fastest spreaders.

And most larger independent garden centers/nurseries carry a pretty full selection of groundcovers. Or can easily order them for you.
kitasei
8 years ago
How can you get rid of horsetail after you’ve planted the desirable groundcover?
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
8 years ago
You can't.
rawegg
Original Author
8 years ago
rbspdx, I get my plants from T&L Nursery in Woodinville. http://www.tandlnursery.com. You will need to set up a corporate account though.

One of my landscapers also goes to https://www.skynursery.com in Shoreline.
rawegg
Original Author
8 years ago
kitasei, it's almost impossible to get rid of horsetail naturally... first I remove the horsetail from as deep as I can reach them (I use a Sickle) then plant the ground covers over. I have a big steep hill and I try to tackle one section at a time as it's very time consuming to plant and then manage the weeds (including horsetail) till that area becomes dense enough that horsetail would go elsewhere instead. If you find another solution pls share!