Ferns? Pachysandra? Asiatic Jasmine? Anything but rocks...

Ground cover also came to my mind. Ferns propagate like crazy, so I can't recommend them unless you want them all over. We had a lot of pachysandra at our previous house which propagated in a more controlled fashion and makes a good ground cover.

No.

I'd agree. A hot summer climate and with the trees in full sun, rocks are a definite NO.

I'd also question the suitability of a full sun siting for these trees in a location like Georgia. They are by nature woodland understory trees and appreciate at least partial shade. JM's in full sun can very easily become stressed and develop leaf scorch. Not ideal.

Good advice from gardengal. A simple evergreen ground cover will look nice and let the focus stay on the JM. No rocks.

Has anyone used dwarf mondo grass in full sun? Or something similar as a ground cover that doesn’t still the show from the maples.

@ gardengal… we used to have several large trees nearby which provided shade for the maples. Unfortunately, they had to be cut down due to beetle infestation and one had been struck with lightening and died.

“…we used to have several large trees nearby which provided shade for the maples.”

Does that mean your full sun exposure is new to the JM’s? We’re in Southern CA and our JM‘s are all in filtered light under oak trees. I’ve seem some varieties adjust to full sun here with neighbors’ JM’s, but we’ve never had much luck with it. Summers are just too darn hot.

@chloebud…. Yes. The nearby tall trees that previously provided partial shade for the JMs were removed in July last year. So far the JMs are doing quite well. 🤞

Dwarf Mondo ( which I love) does not like full sun, IME—I had a pathway that had different sun exposure along it, and the sun mondo got crispy. Though perhaps plentiful watering would have helped. Also depending on sun orientation, I guess the JM’s themselves could provide part shade for some of the groundcover.

You might want to do mulch this year to retain moisture and reduce stress for the trees which are getting new sun exposure. See how things go and then still could under-plant in fall or next spring.

Sedums might work— I know they don’t typically take the same conditions as JM’s but yours have changed, & sedums are shallow- rooted, and bits of them can be planted into little wedge- holes under the trees. Whatever you plant might not achieve lush homogeneous weed- blocking coverage if the trees have already established extensive root zones. So you might end up doing a combination of plants & mulch.

@marmiegard…. Thank you for your ideas. I previously had some DMG in full sun and it did not spread at all for many years. I had forgotten how expensive it is, and believe the drought + heat tolerant creeping type of ground covers are the way to go.

For those Japanese Maple experts… how far out would mulching need to be around the tree?

Hey everyone, I just learned about the “drip line” and answer to my question … husband also understands not to use stones! Thanks all for your help and advice!!!

We have many Japanese maples where I live we get very hot summers and aslo cold winters they all seem to thrive and often on the south facing front yards . Some have mulch and some ground cover both seem to work I like some low ground cover myself This is aquote from google . IMO watering is ahuge deal in the heat and the ground cover helps hold that moisture better IMO

Dappled or Afternoon Shade - A mature Japanese Maple thrives in full sun everywhere but the southernmost portions of its hardiness range, but is also happy with a bit more shade. It does need some sun for best foliage color, but the amount you give it can vary greatly.

Georgia is NOT central British Columbia. The climates couldn't be much more different. What may work in one location may be completely unsuitable in the other.