Which evergreen Perennial groundcovers bloom the longest in temperate climates?

light preferences?





how easy are they to esatablish and maintain?





Thanks for your answers!Which evergreen Perennial groundcovers bloom the longest in temperate climates?
Here's a list of evergreen groundcovers:


The Ajuga 鈥楤urgundy Glow鈥? Ajuga reptans, is a useful ground cover with short spikes of blue flowers. This Ajuga is one of the most popular, forming striking mounds of leaves dappled in green, pink and cream.


http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/boga/html/鈥?/a>


http://www.canningperennials.com/acatalo鈥?/a>


http://www.variegatedfoliage.com/pg04v_a鈥?/a>





Ajuga reptans or Carpet Bugle produces crowns and spreads by horizontal above ground stems called stolons. Carpet bugle has foliage reaching 4-6'; in height and produces attractive 8-10'; spikes bearing purple-blue flowers in late spring.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/jam343/1363鈥?/a>


http://www.garden-picture.com/fotoseite7鈥?/a>





Liriope 'variegated' some varieties are hardy to zone 5, others to just zone 6. Plants will grow in either sun or shade, but will flower better in full sun.


http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC1鈥?/a>


http://www.gorgetopgardens.com/perennial鈥?/a>


http://home.att.net/~larvalbugrex/liriop鈥?/a>





Vinca minor, also so known as Myrtle, is an excellent ground cover for full sun, shaded and semi-shaded areas. Dark green oval shaped foilage and conspicuous blue flowers in early spring.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/hedgerowmob鈥?/a>





Vinca minor 鈥?'Illumination' Variegated foliage with a twist 颅 lemon-colored leaves edged with lime. Blue flowers appear in spring. Trailing habit. http://www.perennials.com/seeplant.html?鈥?/a>


http://www.sobkowich.com/products/Proven鈥?/a>





Thyme, Golden Lemon - Thymus x citriodorus 鈥?A delightful, creeping thyme with very aromatic evergreen foliage that forms a dense mat. This Thyme displays tiny lavender flowers in summer. Likes sun Thyme is a semi-evergreen groundcover that rarely grows more than 15 inches tall.


http://mulberrycreek.com/Detailed/204.ht鈥?/a>


http://www.denverplants.com/herbs/html/t鈥?/a>


http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/鈥?/a>





Green View Bamboo - Sasa tsuboian - is an evergreen groundcover bamboo but can grow to six foot in height. Its large leaves hang vertically, giving a tropical appearance. It is a forest grass from Japan that tolerates shade


http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm鈥?/a>





Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald 'n Gold' tolerates full sun and heavy shade. It will grow 1陆 to 2 feet in height.


http://www.natorp.com/PL-Euonymus'Emeral鈥?/a>





Heucheras Plum Pudding . The plum-colored, evergreen foliage is outstanding; even in full shade it holds its color well.


http://www.soonerplantfarm.com/index.cfm鈥?/a>


http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm鈥?/a>





Heuchera 'Amber Waves' rich warm leaf colors vary from amber gold to misty browns and mustard yellows. Blooms are held on 12 inch stems and are a very nice shade of peachy pink. Foliage is essentially evergreen in warm winter climates, but the amount of retained foliage color in cold winter climates depends in large part upon the severity of the temperatures. In cold winter climates, a winter mulch applied after the ground freezes will help prevent root heaving.


http://www.gorgetopgardens.com/perennial鈥?/a>


http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plant鈥?/a>





Festuca ovina glauca - Elijah-Blue This (8-12';) is the bluest of all the blue Full Sun, Partial Sun and shade


http://greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/189鈥?/a>





Pennisetum alopecuroides - Fountain Grass - Viridescens Black Fountain only grows 20 '; full sun The folliage dries in winter, but still looks good.


http://www.bluestem.ca/grass-scapes/penn鈥?/a>


http://www.outsidepride.com/store/catalo鈥?/a>


http://www.bluestem.ca/pennisetum-alopec鈥?/a>


http://www.aragriculture.org/horticultur鈥?/a>





Most have flowers that don't bloom very long, but they make up for it in being colorful in their own way ... all-year round.





Good luck! Hope this is helpful.Which evergreen Perennial groundcovers bloom the longest in temperate climates?
You're welcome! Thanks, it feels good to be appreciated. You made my day :) Report Abuse

there aren't too many ';evergreen'; ground covers that bloom a long time or in a showy manner in our temperate climate in NW washington, unless you are in the san francisco area or someplace with a temperate to sub tropical climate. further north, we do get some cold winter storms and winds which kill back the foliage until spring.





mohi is right about the long bloom times of echinacea and rudbeckia. they both need sun. Once established, they are drought tolerant, but rudbeckia likes moisture and spreads best when soil is moist. Echinacea is not really a ground cover because it is tap rooted, but it slowly spreads. rudbeckia 'goldsturm' can bloom for one and a half months straight, especially if you deadhead (remove spent flowers), and it's about 2 feet tall when in bloom. You can scatter seed where you want more to grow.





I have different ideas of what ';groundcover'; means to me than most people! i prefer clumping plants that spread and fill a space, over things that root into the soil and creep along by runners. It is far easier to mulch and to weed around clumping plants than among and IN groundcover, which is a real pain in my opinion! Groundcover is best in woodland situations or over rocky embankments. Many clumping plants will effectively make a groundcover (such as lavenders, heucheras, hardy geraniums, helianthemums (sun roses), dianthus, heathers, .





You don't say if you want a ground cover for sun, shade, or part sun, or how high you want the foliage and flower stems to be, and whether you want the ground cover to be total low maintenance (like hypericum) which would all be considerations in what you choose.





another few sun loving things that bloom for a long time or repeat bloom are achillea (yarrow). two of my favorites are 'moonshine', a sulfur yellow, or achillea 'paprika'; which starts out cherry red and then turns a brick orangey red. if you dead-head these, they will bloom intermittently all summer long.





some nice groundcovers for shadier situations (low, not necessarily evergreen) are heuchera sanguinea (airy little red flowers all summer long), violas and certain primulas, which bloom in early to late spring and again in fall), persicaria (knotweed).





Be sure to check with you county extension agent before planting a ground cover, to be sure it is not on the noxious weed list in your area.
Rudbeckia sp. and Echinacea purpurea are excellent flowers And create a striking display of yellow and purple daisy flowers... Quite hardy and pest free... Also they are perennial and come back stronger each year... Start them from seeds or just buy seedlings from nurseries... Good luck...
What ground cover means to you, might be different than some others might think.





That being said, I generally consider 'ground cover' plants to be short (8'; or shorter), that spread quickly.





Ground covers and especially evergreen ones are mostly grown for their foliage, rather than flowers. That being said, the most known for their flowers is Vinca minor (Periwinkle), they typically have blue flowers. Many forms exist, some with white flowers or variegated foliage. These are best in the shade to part sun.





Liriope (Lily Turf) is another evergreen. Although it looks more like a grassy plant. Again the flowers are blue, although some white ones exist, as well as variegated forms. These are best in part shade to full sun.





The last I will suggest, are Sedum. There are a huge variety of sedums, some with pink, red, white or even yellow flowers. These plants prefer a sunny, dry location.





Ground covers aren't difficult to start, and easy to grow, in general. The biggest 'problem' is keeping them weed free. Hand weeding is almost the only way. You can't use non-selective type (such as Round Up) herbicides, as they will kill your ground covers, as will selective (like Weed-B-Gone) ones. There are a few, expensive (Over-the-Top by Ferti-Lome) herbicides out there that can help, but they are hard to come by.





I hope that this helps


Good luck