What Are Ground Cover Plants? A Detailed Guide to Common Varieties and Care Techniques
What are ground cover plants? How do you care for them? First, let's talk about what ground cover plants are. Ground cover plants refer to those plants with dense, low-growing clumps that, with simple management, can be used to replace lawn grass to cover the ground surface, prevent soil erosion, absorb dust, purify the air, reduce noise, eliminate pollution, and possess a certain ornamental and economic value. Next, the editor will briefly explain the characteristics, variety types, and care techniques of ground cover plants, hoping to be of some help to everyone.
I. Characteristics of Ground Cover Plants
(1) Small in size, with a great variety of species and rich cultivars; their branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits are full of variation, creating diverse ecological landscapes.
(2) Strong adaptability and fast growth rate; they can grow under various environmental conditions such as shade, sun, dry, and wet, and can present a quite good ornamental effect in a short time.
(3) Woody plants have variations in height and layering, making them easy to use for shaping and trimming into patterned designs.
(4) Simple to propagate; plant once and benefit for many years.
(5) They do not require frequent pruning or meticulous care, reducing the cost and effort of manual maintenance.
II. Variety Types of Ground Cover Plants
(1) Silver-edged hydrangea
It prefers moist, fertile loam with good drainage. It can be grown in pots for ornamental display and is an ornamental flower with both beautiful flowers and foliage.
(2) Corymbose senna
It prefers light, has low soil requirements, grows fast, and tolerates pruning.
(3) Floribunda rose
It prefers a warm climate and is relatively cold-tolerant.
(4) Red robin (Photinia × fraseri)
Brightly colored, fast-growing, with strong sprouting ability and tolerance to pruning, it is known as the "king of red hedges."
III. Care Techniques for Ground Cover Plants
(1) Prevent soil erosion, keep the soil loose and fertile, and ensure proper drainage measures.
(2) Increase soil fertility during the plant's growing season, mainly by applying additional dilute inorganic fertilizers such as ammonium sulfate, urea, superphosphate, and potassium chloride.
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Ground cover plants not only beautify the environment but also prevent soil erosion, absorb dust, purify the air, reduce noise, eliminate pollution, and possess a certain ornamental and economic value. In our lives, lawn grass is the most familiar ground cover plant. But besides lawn grass, what other ground cover plants are there? Let's learn about more ground cover plants together.
Calla lily has well-developed stolons, emerald green leaves that are relatively small and arrow-shaped, and pale yellow flowers. The plant is low-growing, with an average height of only 5 to 15 cm. It prefers warm and humid climate conditions, has relatively wide adaptability, strong competitiveness and invasiveness, and a certain tolerance to trampling. During the entire growing season, it basically does not need much pruning, but if proper pruning can be carried out, the effect will be even better.
Third: Dwarf lilyturf.
Dwarf lilyturf is a perennial evergreen herbaceous plant of the genus Ophiopogon in the Liliaceae family. The root tips or middle parts swell into spindle-shaped fleshy small tubers, and the root crown is slender. The leaves grow in clumps at the base and are 10 to 30 cm long. The flowering period is from May to September; the flowers are racemes with light purple florets, and the fruits are blue. Dwarf lilyturf is evergreen throughout the four seasons, widely adaptable, highly stress-resistant, and has high ornamental value. Its tubers are a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine with nourishing effects, so it is an excellent ground cover plant with both ecological and economic value
Characteristics of Ground Cover Plants:
1. They have beautiful flowers or fruits, and the longer the flowering period, the higher the ornamental value.
2. They have unique plant forms, leaf shapes, leaf colors, and seasonal changes in leaf color, thus giving people a colorful feeling.
3. They have relatively wide adaptability and strong stress resistance, tolerate extensive management, and can adapt to relatively harsh natural environments.
4. They have a strong or special air-purifying function. For example, some plants have a strong ability to absorb sulfur dioxide and purify the air, while others have good sound insulation and noise-reduction effects.
The Main Values and Functions of Ground Cover Plants
1、Ground cover on slopes in gardens and in areas with fewer passersby has both the effects of landscaping and soil and water conservation.
2、In places where maintenance and management are inconvenient, such as areas with insufficient water sources, where lawn mowers cannot enter, or under large trees with very low branches, it is very suitable to choose ground cover plants with strong coverage ability and tolerance to extensive management.
3、Areas where people do not frequently move about are mostly concentrated in corners or places where fewer scenic spots exist and garden paths have not fully extended. Ground cover plants can, to a certain extent, make up for the shortcomings of the overall landscape.
4、For the need to set off scenery, such as at sculptures, beside streams, at flower beds, or along flower border edges, ground cover plants can be used to enhance the three-dimensional landscape effect.
Conclusion:The role and value of ground cover plants are very high. In greening, ground cover plants are indispensable. They also bring great freshness and beauty to our lives. There are many ground cover plants in life, and everyone needs to care for and protect them with heart. Their lives depend on everyone "showing mercy underfoot." I hope that in life we will cherish every flower and every blade of grass.
Care of Ground Cover Plants
Ground cover plants are widely used in landscaping. If managed improperly, they may sometimes suffer from pests and diseases or develop bare patches. If correct methods are adopted during the planting process and management is strengthened, such occurrences can be avoided.Care of Ground Cover Plants
I. Before Planting
When seedlings enter the site, because ground cover seedlings are large in quantity and numerous in variety, although it is difficult for professionals to check every one when inspecting them, they should still grasp the overall qualification rate of seedling specifications as much as possible to prevent diseased seedlings from being mixed in. At the same time, loosen the soil layer to provide good conditions for plant growth, and soil replacement measures should also be taken for sections where the soil is particularly barren.
Care of Ground Cover Plants
II. During Planting
Workers are required to strictly check when planting seedlings, discarding or using for other purposes seedlings that pass inferior goods off as good or small ones as large. At the same time, the planting density must be strictly controlled to prevent some plants from being at a disadvantage in survival competition, dying, and causing bare patches.
Care of Ground Cover Plants
III. After Planting
Attention should be paid to pest and disease control of ground cover plants as well as ensuring water supply during the dry season. Although most ground cover plant varieties have strong resistance to pests and diseases, sometimes pests and diseases can still occur for various reasons. Especially when ground cover plants are planted over large areas, fungal diseases are the most likely to break out, such as gray mold and sooty mold. Once they break out, it is extremely easy for plants in entire patches to infect one another. At this time, spraying measures should be adopted for prevention and control to stop their spread and expansion. In addition, attention should also be paid to the control of various insect pests.
Care of Ground Cover Plants
Wild ground cover plants are generally drought-resistant varieties with strong adaptability and do not need artificial watering unless there is continuous dry weather without rain. For small ornamental and medicinal ground cover plants planted in the same year, when overwintering through summer, they should be watered thoroughly 2 to 4 times per month.
As long as the above measures are taken before, during, and after planting, with prevention as the priority, the probability of bare patches, the main factor affecting the landscape effect of ground cover plants, will definitely be greatly reduced.