How to Plant Shade-Tolerant Fern Ground Covers

Ferns Most ferns have strong shade tolerance, as well as strong adaptability and resistance, and can survive in poor environments, especially in places where the soil is relatively barren, sheltered, and unsuitable for cultivating plants. In these places, using ferns for landscaping and greening is the best choice, and ferns grow quickly and have strong reproductive capacity, so a green belt landscape can soon be revealed. In areas south of the Yangtze River, Dryopteris, Pteris, Matteuccia, Humata tyermanni, Diplopterygium, and Pteris multifida, among others, are simple to plant, require extensive management, and can quickly form a landscape.

At present, ferns used for commercial landscape applications mainly rely on wild digging and sporophyte division propagation. Wild digging causes severe damage to wild fern resources and the ecological environment. Division propagation has a low propagation coefficient and poor ornamental value, while ferns produce a large amount of spores, which is an effective way to rapidly breed seedlings.

Several types of terrestrial ferns such as Pteris multifida and Cyrtomium have strong alkaline tolerance, strong resistance, and require extensive management, and can adapt to almost all soil types. Cyrtomium can be used as ground cover plants along greenbelt roadsides, forest edges, and under forests. Pteris multifida has a delicate, soft posture, and when appropriately paired with rock landscapes, it can achieve a unique landscape effect; Cyclosorus and Parathelypteris are especially suitable for planting in large patches in green spaces, with a fresh and lovely green color.

Common Planting Methods for Shade-Tolerant Ground Cover Plants

Like other plants, shade-tolerant ground cover plants have multiple functions such as regulating environmental temperature and humidity, adsorbing and decomposing harmful gases and dust, purifying air, and balancing the oxygen and carbon dioxide content in the air; at the same time, they make up for the shortcomings of other plants, can grow well in areas with very little sunlight and in damp, shaded environments, and play a good role in soil and water conservation. Using shade-tolerant plants for shade greening is an important measure for increasing green coverage, beautifying and adding fragrance, and improving the ecological environment. Several common shade-tolerant ground cover plants are introduced below:

1. Ardisia japonica Ardisia japonica is an evergreen small shrub of the genus Ardisia in the family Primulaceae (Myrsinaceae). It is also commonly called laowuda, di juzi, and pingdimu among the people, and is a Chinese herbal medicine. The plant height is 10 to 30 cm. The leaves are nearly leathery, glossy green on the upper surface and light green on the lower surface. It blooms from June to September, with small white or pink flowers. The fruiting period is from August to December; when ripe, the fruit is red and remains on the plant for a long time, making it quite attractive.

Ardisia japonica can be propagated by sowing, division, and cuttings. According to records, the seeds of Ardisia japonica do not germinate in the same year and only germinate in May to June of the following year, and the natural germination rate is very poor, generally only 3% to 5%, requiring treatment with sulfuric acid. Division propagation is usually carried out in spring and autumn. The rhizome is cut apart, ensuring that each section of rhizome has one branch, and then planted into prepared containers or leveled ground, kept moist, and can survive in about 20 days. If cutting propagation is used, branches can be cut from May to June, about 5 to 8 cm tall, remove some old leaves, insert them into a prepared cutting bed, keep the leaf surface moist and the medium moist, and they will root in about 1 month.

Because it mostly grows in shaded and damp environments such as under forests, in valleys, and beside streams, it is extremely shade-tolerant and is an excellent foliage ground cover plant for shaded and damp environments. It is mostly used under patch forests and in shaded, damp places among shrubs, and is a new favorite ground cover under urban overpasses and elevated bridges. It can also be used for potted ornamental display and in plantings in rock gardens, flower beds, and flower borders.

2. Hosta ventricosa Hosta ventricosa is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Hosta in the family Asparagaceae (Liliaceae). It is mainly distributed in wild mountain gullies and shaded, damp places under forests in East China and Southwest China. It likes a warm and humid climate, prefers shade, and avoids long periods of direct sunlight. Its tillering ability and cold resistance are extremely strong, and it has no strict requirements for soil. It can grow well in ordinary soil. It turns green in early to mid-April, blooms from June to July. When flowering, the scape emerges from between the leaves, and the flowers are relatively small and light purple. The fruiting period is August. It enters the withering period from late September to early October.

Hosta ventricosa is mainly propagated by division, repotting and transplanting in spring and autumn. After transplanting, Hosta ventricosa is very easy to survive and takes effect quickly.

Hosta ventricosa has a strong ability to adapt to the environment, requires extensive management, and has great ornamental value and greening function. It can be widely used in shaded places such as under overpasses, under elevated bridges, courtyards, residential communities, parks, and open spaces under greenbelts and forests.

3. Hosta Hosta is a perennial herbaceous plant with fleshy roots of the genus Hosta in the family Asparagaceae (Liliaceae). Its leaves are broad and unusual, and the leaf surface is glossy and emerald green. The scape stands upright above the leaf cluster, and both flowers and leaves are beautiful. It blooms from July to September, with flowers as white as jasper and fragrant, making it a beautiful and elegantly simple summer ornamental flower. At present, there are many horticultural varieties, and more variegated leaf varieties have enriched the visual appeal.

Hosta can be propagated by sowing and division, and some new horticultural varieties are also propagated by tissue culture. Hosta produces very few seeds. Harvest after the seeds mature in autumn and before the seed pods split, then dry and store them. They can be sown in early spring of the following year from February to March, and seedlings grow slowly. Division propagation is the main method of Hosta propagation. It can be done in both spring and autumn. In early spring, before sprouting from March to April, or in autumn, preferably after the leaves turn yellow, take out the roots and use sharp scissors to cut at places where the root nodes are relatively sparse. Each piece should retain 3 to 4 buds, and at least 2 buds must be retained. Division propagation can preserve the excellent traits of the variety and grows quickly, and it can bloom in the same year.

Hosta especially likes shaded and damp environments. Strong sunlight radiation will destroy chlorophyll, causing the leaves to turn yellow and the leaf edges to dry and scorch. In gardens, it is most suitable for planting under patch forests, or in shaded places of buildings (the north side) to set off the architecture, or in plantings beside rocks. It can also be potted.

4. Ferns Most ferns have strong shade tolerance, as well as strong adaptability and resistance, and can survive in poor environments, especially in places where the soil is relatively barren, sheltered, and unsuitable for cultivating plants. In these places, using ferns for landscaping and greening is the best choice, and ferns grow quickly and have strong reproductive capacity, so a green belt landscape can soon be revealed. In areas south of the Yangtze River, Dryopteris, Pteris, Matteuccia, Humata tyermanni, Diplopterygium, and Pteris multifida, among others, are simple to plant, require extensive management, and can quickly form a landscape.

At present, ferns used for commercial landscape applications mainly rely on wild digging and sporophyte division propagation. Wild digging causes severe damage to wild fern resources and the ecological environment. Division propagation has a low propagation coefficient and poor ornamental value, while ferns produce a large amount of spores, which is an effective way to rapidly breed seedlings.

Several types of terrestrial ferns such as Pteris multifida and Cyrtomium have strong alkaline tolerance, strong resistance, and require extensive management, and can adapt to almost all soil types. Cyrtomium can be used as ground cover plants along greenbelt roadsides, forest edges, and under forests. Pteris multifida has a delicate, soft posture, and when appropriately paired with rock landscapes, it can achieve a unique landscape effect; Cyclosorus and Parathelypteris are especially suitable for planting in large patches in green spaces, with a fresh and lovely green color.

5. Indocalamus Broad-leaved Indocalamus is a shrub-type bamboo of the genus Indocalamus in the family Poaceae, with a plant height of 0.5 to 1 m. Indocalamus is native to East China, Central China, and other places, has abundant wild resources, and is widely distributed. It is also cultivated in Beijing and areas to the south. It has strong adaptability, is relatively cold-tolerant, likes moisture and tolerates drought, has no strict requirements for soil, and can also grow normally in mildly saline-alkali soil. It likes light and tolerates partial shade.

Indocalamus can be propagated by sowing, division, or the buried rhizome method. Among these methods, the buried rhizome method is the most commonly used and also has a relatively high survival rate.

In gardens, it is mostly planted under open forests, and can also be planted along riverbanks for bank protection. The culms can be used as brush handles and bamboo chopsticks, and the leaves can be used for bamboo hats, boat awnings, and wrapping zongzi.

6. Mock Strawberry Mock Strawberry is a perennial herbaceous plant with fleshy roots of the genus Duchesnea in the family Rosaceae. It grows on hillsides, roadsides, in grass clusters, and in shaded, damp places. Mock Strawberry grows rapidly and has a strong ability to cover the ground. Its leaves, flowers, and fruit all have relatively high ornamental value. The flowering period is from April to May. When it blooms, small yellow flowers dot the plant one after another, breaking the monotony of green and giving people a sense of vitality. After the flowering period, red fruits resembling small strawberries cover the plant, making it quite attractive. It has strong stress resistance, requires extensive and simple management, and needs no pruning, making it a rare new and superior ground cover plant.

The seed germination rate of Mock Strawberry is very low, usually not exceeding 10%, but its asexual propagation ability is very strong. Artificial lawn establishment can adopt whole-plant transplanting or separate entire stolon branches, or cut them into stem segments 20 to 35 cm long, bury them in soil 3 to 5 cm deep, keep the soil moist, and a lawn can be formed in about 3 months.

Mock Strawberry has relatively strong vitality, is evergreen, fast-growing, with fresh flowers and beautiful fruit. The plant is short and grows prostrate, is relatively tolerant of trampling, and is suitable for planting on slopes, under forests, in courtyards, and other places to form a distinctive greening landscape and enhance urban wildness. It is a rare and excellent ground cover plant. At present, it has been used on a large scale in Shanghu Park in Changshu, Jiangsu.

7. Farfugium japonicum Farfugium japonicum is a perennial evergreen herbaceous plant of the genus Farfugium in the family Asteraceae. The leaves are bright green and glossy, and it blooms in late autumn with yellow flowers. It likes semi-shade and humid environments, fears direct sunlight, is cold-tolerant, and can overwinter outdoors in the Jiangnan region.

Division propagation is commonly used. In combination with repotting and changing soil in spring, after removing from the pot, shake off the old soil, divide the plant cluster into 3 to 4 parts, and pot them separately. It can also be cultivated in the open field. After planting, management can be relatively extensive. In winter, the aboveground part dies, and in the following spring it will sprout and unfold leaves on its own. Farfugium japonicum can also be propagated by seed sowing, sown in a seedbed in early spring each year, and transplanted into pots after emergence.

Farfugium japonicum seedlings cannot be too wet, otherwise they are prone to disease.

It is suitable for large-area planting as ground cover under forests or under overpasses, in shaded and damp places at forest edges, beside streams and ditches, and beside rocks. Several application methods are specifically introduced: planted on the north side of buildings, especially the north side of high-rise buildings; planted in moso bamboo forests, sweetgum forests, or deciduous-evergreen mixed forests as ground cover for scenic forests; planted on the north side of rock walls, or in the backlit corners of building walls; planted under elevated roads and overpasses to form shade-tolerant flowering ground cover.

8. Glechoma hederacea Glechoma hederacea is also known as fo'er cao, jinqian cao, and so on. It is a perennial prostrate herb of the family Lamiaceae. The leaves are opposite, with long petioles, and the leaf margins have rounded teeth. Both sides of the leaf veins have short soft hairs. The flowers are borne in leaf axils, in whorls of 2 to 6, labiate, light purple or pink, with a flowering period from March to April. Glechoma hederacea is scattered under forests, along roadsides, and beside streams, and likes shaded and damp environments. There is now a horticultural variety, variegated Glechoma hederacea, whose growth habit is the same as Glechoma hederacea, with white margins on the leaves.

Glechoma hederacea relies on insect pollination. After the seeds mature, they can naturally fall to the ground, but because its stolons root at each node, asexual propagation is relatively easy. When artificially establishing a lawn, stolons can be cut into sections and inserted as cuttings, generally 2 to 3 nodes per section, with no fewer than 2 nodes. In summer, ensure soil moisture, and they will root in about 10 days and form a good landscape effect in about 1 month.

In early spring, the small purple or pink flowers of Glechoma hederacea dot the green leaves, filling the gap during this period when most grass species have not yet turned green, and adding a bit of color to early spring.

The above several plants all have wild resource distribution in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai region, and this is also one of the main source methods for materials currently used in garden green spaces. However, this method cannot be used for a long time, and ultimately artificial cultivation and propagation are still required. Moreover, excellent shade-tolerant ground cover varieties are still very lacking. Therefore, researching rapid and effective propagation methods for shade-tolerant plants and continuing to develop native shade-tolerant ground covers is important work for the next stage. As urbanization intensifies, urban building density increases, and a large number of shaded environments appear, while the required urban greening coverage rate is also becoming higher and higher. Whether it is rooftop greening on high-rise buildings or greening and leisure plazas in the city center, or areas under overpasses and elevated bridges, these places all need greening. Patch forests are also one of the major directions of today's greening, with significant ecological benefits. Greening under patch forests and under overpasses and elevated bridges is an important part of urban greening, and the important material for greening these areas is shade-tolerant ground cover plants.

Planting Methods for Shade-Tolerant Ground Cover Plants

As urbanization intensifies, urban building density increases, and a large number of shaded environments appear, while the required urban greening coverage rate is also becoming higher and higher. Whether it is rooftop greening on high-rise buildings or greening and leisure plazas in the city center, or areas under overpasses and elevated bridges, these places all need greening. Patch forests are also one of the major directions of today's greening, with significant ecological benefits. Greening under patch forests and under overpasses and elevated bridges is an important part of urban greening, and the important material for greening these areas is shade-tolerant ground cover plants.

Like other plants, shade-tolerant ground cover plants have multiple functions such as regulating environmental temperature and humidity, adsorbing and decomposing harmful gases and dust, purifying air, and balancing the oxygen and carbon dioxide content in the air; at the same time, they make up for the shortcomings of other plants, can grow well in areas with very little sunlight and in damp, shaded environments, and play a good role in soil and water conservation. Using shade-tolerant plants for shade greening is an important measure for increasing green coverage, beautifying and adding fragrance, and improving the ecological environment. Several common shade-tolerant ground cover plants are introduced below:

1. Ardisia japonica Ardisia japonica is an evergreen small shrub of the genus Ardisia in the family Primulaceae (Myrsinaceae). It is also commonly called laowuda, di juzi, and pingdimu among the people, and is a Chinese herbal medicine. The plant height is 10 to 30 cm. The leaves are nearly leathery, glossy green on the upper surface and light green on the lower surface. It blooms from June to September, with small white or pink flowers. The fruiting period is from August to December; when ripe, the fruit is red and remains on the plant for a long time, making it quite attractive.

Ardisia japonica can be propagated by sowing, division, and cuttings. According to records, the seeds of Ardisia japonica do not germinate in the same year and only germinate in May to June of the following year, and the natural germination rate is very poor, generally only 3% to 5%, requiring treatment with sulfuric acid. Division propagation is usually carried out in spring and autumn. The rhizome is cut apart, ensuring that each section of rhizome has one branch, and then planted into prepared containers or leveled ground, kept moist, and can survive in about 20 days. If cutting propagation is used, branches can be cut from May to June, about 5 to 8 cm tall, remove some old leaves, insert them into a prepared cutting bed, keep the leaf surface moist and the medium moist, and they will root in about 1 month.

Because it mostly grows in shaded and damp environments such as under forests, in valleys, and beside streams, it is extremely shade-tolerant and is an excellent foliage ground cover plant for shaded and damp environments. It is mostly used under patch forests and in shaded, damp places among shrubs, and is a new favorite ground cover under urban overpasses and elevated bridges. It can also be used for potted ornamental display and in plantings in rock gardens, flower beds, and flower borders.

2. Hosta ventricosa Hosta ventricosa is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Hosta in the family Asparagaceae (Liliaceae). It is mainly distributed in wild mountain gullies and shaded, damp places under forests in East China and Southwest China. It likes a warm and humid climate, prefers shade, and avoids long periods of direct sunlight. Its tillering ability and cold resistance are extremely strong, and it has no strict requirements for soil. It can grow well in ordinary soil. It turns green in early to mid-April, blooms from June to July. When flowering, the scape emerges from between the leaves, and the flowers are relatively small and light purple. The fruiting period is August. It enters the withering period from late September to early October.

Hosta ventricosa is mainly propagated by division, repotting and transplanting in spring and autumn. After transplanting, Hosta ventricosa is very easy to survive and takes effect quickly.

Hosta ventricosa has a strong ability to adapt to the environment, requires extensive management, and has great ornamental value and greening function. It can be widely used in shaded places such as under overpasses, under elevated bridges, courtyards, residential communities, parks, and open spaces under greenbelts and forests.

3. Hosta Hosta is a perennial herbaceous plant with fleshy roots of the genus Hosta in the family Asparagaceae (Liliaceae). Its leaves are broad and unusual, and the leaf surface is glossy and emerald green. The scape stands upright above the leaf cluster, and both flowers and leaves are beautiful. It blooms from July to September, with flowers as white as jasper and fragrant, making it a beautiful and elegantly simple summer ornamental flower. At present, there are many horticultural varieties, and more variegated leaf varieties have enriched the visual appeal.

Hosta can be propagated by sowing and division, and some new horticultural varieties are also propagated by tissue culture. Hosta produces very few seeds. Harvest after the seeds mature in autumn and before the seed pods split, then dry and store them. They can be sown in early spring of the following year from February to March, and seedlings grow slowly. Division propagation is the main method of Hosta propagation. It can be done in both spring and autumn. In early spring, before sprouting from March to April, or in autumn, preferably after the leaves turn yellow, take out the roots and use sharp scissors to cut at places where the root nodes are relatively sparse. Each piece should retain 3 to 4 buds, and at least 2 buds must be retained. Division propagation can preserve the excellent traits of the variety and grows quickly, and it can bloom in the same year.

Hosta especially likes shaded and damp environments. Strong sunlight radiation will destroy chlorophyll, causing the leaves to turn yellow and the leaf edges to dry and scorch. In gardens, it is most suitable for planting under patch forests, or in shaded places of buildings (the north side) to set off the architecture, or in plantings beside rocks. It can also be potted.

4. Ferns Most ferns have strong shade tolerance, as well as strong adaptability and resistance, and can survive in poor environments, especially in places where the soil is relatively barren, sheltered, and unsuitable for cultivating plants. In these places, using ferns for landscaping and greening is the best choice, and ferns grow quickly and have strong reproductive capacity, so a green belt landscape can soon be revealed. In areas south of the Yangtze River, Dryopteris, Pteris, Matteuccia, Humata tyermanni, Diplopterygium, and Pteris multifida, among others, are simple to plant, require extensive management, and can quickly form a landscape.

At present, ferns used for commercial landscape applications mainly rely on wild digging and sporophyte division propagation. Wild digging causes severe damage to wild fern resources and the ecological environment. Division propagation has a low propagation coefficient and poor ornamental value, while ferns produce a large amount of spores, which is an effective way to rapidly breed seedlings.

Several types of terrestrial ferns such as Pteris multifida and Cyrtomium have strong alkaline tolerance, strong resistance, and require extensive management, and can adapt to almost all soil types. Cyrtomium can be used as ground cover plants along greenbelt roadsides, forest edges, and under forests. Pteris multifida has a delicate, soft posture, and when appropriately paired with rock landscapes, it can achieve a unique landscape effect; Cyclosorus and Parathelypteris are especially suitable for planting in large patches in green spaces, with a fresh and lovely green color.

5.Indocalamus Broad-leaved Indocalamusis a shrub-type bamboo of the genus Indocalamus in the family Poaceae, with a plant height of 0.5 to 1 m. Indocalamus is native to East China, Central China, and other places, has abundant wild resources, and is widely distributed. It is also cultivated in Beijing and areas to the south. It has strong adaptability, is relatively cold-tolerant, likes moisture and tolerates drought, has no strict requirements for soil, and can also grow normally in mildly saline-alkali soil. It likes light and tolerates partial shade.

Indocalamus can be propagated by sowing, division, or the buried rhizome method. Among these methods, the buried rhizome method is the most commonly used and also has a relatively high survival rate.

In gardens, it is mostly planted under open forests, and can also be planted along riverbanks for bank protection. The culms can be used as brush handles and bamboo chopsticks, and the leaves can be used for bamboo hats, boat awnings, and wrapping zongzi.

6. Mock Strawberry Mock Strawberry is a perennial herbaceous plant with fleshy roots of the genus Duchesnea in the family Rosaceae. It grows on hillsides, roadsides, in grass clusters, and in shaded, damp places. Mock Strawberry grows rapidly and has a strong ability to cover the ground. Its leaves, flowers, and fruit all have relatively high ornamental value. The flowering period is from April to May. When it blooms, small yellow flowers dot the plant one after another, breaking the monotony of green and giving people a sense of vitality. After the flowering period, red fruits resembling small strawberries cover the plant, making it quite attractive. It has strong stress resistance, requires extensive and simple management, and needs no pruning, making it a rare new and superior ground cover plant.

The seed germination rate of Mock Strawberry is very low, usually not exceeding 10%, but its asexual propagation ability is very strong. Artificial lawn establishment can adopt whole-plant transplanting or separate entire stolon branches, or cut them into stem segments 20 to 35 cm long, bury them in soil 3 to 5 cm deep, keep the soil moist, and a lawn can be formed in about 3 months.

Mock Strawberry has relatively strong vitality, is evergreen, fast-growing, with fresh flowers and beautiful fruit. The plant is short and grows prostrate, is relatively tolerant of trampling, and is suitable for planting on slopes, under forests, in courtyards, and other places to form a distinctive greening landscape and enhance urban wildness. It is a rare and excellent ground cover plant. At present, it has been used on a large scale in Shanghu Park in Changshu, Jiangsu.

7. Farfugium japonicum Farfugium japonicum is a perennial evergreen herbaceous plant of the genus Farfugium in the family Asteraceae. The leaves are bright green and glossy, and it blooms in late autumn with yellow flowers. It likes semi-shade and humid environments, fears direct sunlight, is cold-tolerant, and can overwinter outdoors in the Jiangnan region.

Division propagation is commonly used. In combination with repotting and changing soil in spring, after removing from the pot, shake off the old soil, divide the plant cluster into 3 to 4 parts, and pot them separately. It can also be cultivated in the open field. After planting, management can be relatively extensive. In winter, the aboveground part dies, and in the following spring it will sprout and unfold leaves on its own. Farfugium japonicum can also be propagated by seed sowing, sown in a seedbed in early spring each year, and transplanted into pots after emergence.

Farfugium japonicum seedlings cannot be too wet, otherwise they are prone to disease.

It is suitable for large-area planting as ground cover under forests or under overpasses, in shaded and damp places at forest edges, beside streams and ditches, and beside rocks. Several application methods are specifically introduced: planted on the north side of buildings, especially the north side of high-rise buildings; planted in moso bamboo forests, sweetgum forests, or deciduous-evergreen mixed forests as ground cover for scenic forests; planted on the north side of rock walls, or in the backlit corners of building walls; planted under elevated roads and overpasses to form shade-tolerant flowering ground cover.

8. Glechoma hederacea Glechoma hederacea is also known as fo'er cao, jinqian cao, and so on. It is a perennial prostrate herb of the family Lamiaceae. The leaves are opposite, with long petioles, and the leaf margins have rounded teeth. Both sides of the leaf veins have short soft hairs. The flowers are borne in leaf axils, in whorls of 2 to 6, labiate, light purple or pink, with a flowering period from March to April. Glechoma hederacea is scattered under forests, along roadsides, and beside streams, and likes shaded and damp environments. There is now a horticultural variety, variegated Glechoma hederacea, whose growth habit is the same as Glechoma hederacea, with white margins on the leaves.

Glechoma hederacea relies on insect pollination. After the seeds mature, they can naturally fall to the ground, but because its stolons root at each node, asexual propagation is relatively easy. When artificially establishing a lawn, stolons can be cut into sections and inserted as cuttings, generally 2 to 3 nodes per section, with no fewer than 2 nodes. In summer, ensure soil moisture, and they will root in about 10 days and form a good landscape effect in about 1 month.

In early spring, the small purple or pink flowers of Glechoma hederacea dot the green leaves, filling the gap during this period when most grass species have not yet turned green, and adding a bit of color to early spring.

The above several plants all have wild resource distribution in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai region, and this is also one of the main source methods for materials currently used in garden green spaces. However, this method cannot be used for a long time, and ultimately artificial cultivation and propagation are still required. Moreover, excellent shade-tolerant ground cover varieties are still very lacking. Therefore, researching rapid and effective propagation methods for shade-tolerant plants and continuing to develop native shade-tolerant ground covers is important work for the next stage.