Groundcovers are low-growing plantings that are either not mown or not grasses, that is, they are alternatives to turfgrass. For example, English ivy, Hedera helix, might be mown occasionally, but because it is not a grass would by definition be a groundcover, not turfgrass. Or blue fescue, Festuca glauca, a grass, could be planted and not mown and it would be a groundcover, not turfgrass.
There is no sharp definition of what is “low-growing” but certainly 20 cm height or shorter is “low-growing” and 60 cm of height pushes the upper limits of “low-growing.” There are those who consider that a groundcover may be up to 120 cm high and others who will not allow a “groundcover” to be more than 30 cm high.
Despite the semantics, the intention of growing groundcovers is to have a planting that grows low enough for visibility but typically is not trafficked and does not require mowing. This is better operationally as a definition.
Advocates for groundcovers as an alternative to turf mention that turfgrass has high maintenance requirements which groundcovers do not. There is meager data on this and in some cases groundcovers are badly invaded by weeds or have other maintenance problems. The best cases for groundcovers are in situations where shade is too dense for grasses, are that are inaccessible for mowing, and where there is a desire for color or other accents in the landscape.
I need know which weed control product(s) to use on my ornamental perennial peanut, subterranean stems – rhizomes type, in a large area of the backyard (on a one-acre lot). Weeds are a mix (Bermuda grass, Bahia grass, sedge, dog…
munchkin – posted 08 August 2004 09:43 I’m considering replaceing my dead St. Augustine with a ground cover called spider grass (ophiopogon planiscapus nigresens). Any experience &/or suggestions? Thanks.
Donkey – posted 18 October 2001 10:23 I am wondering about Subterranean clover. A friend of mind told me about this clover for ground cover to hold dirt in place during the winter months. I have constructed a new field…
ted_sd – posted 31 May 2005 13:40 I planted a myoporum on an hillside. In the past I had the timeto keep the weeds at bay but this season (San Diego) I’ve been so busy that clover has practically taken…
travis – posted 17 June 2009 12:41 Our family has been growing sod for the last thirty years and we are very excited to be in our 2nd year growing perennial peanut. We sell it in 1 gallon pots and…
redbird – posted 17 April 2003 07:09 I have a strip of roadside ( 35′ x 175′) separated from the back/side of my lawn by a privacy fence and an island of trees/palmettos. It is covered in patches (several large…
Scott10 – posted 31 March 2011 07:49 I live in the Florida Panhandle & seeded my yard with Brown Top Millet as a summer ground cover before planting a permanent turf because: 1) I tilled in sand fill to raise…
socaldirt – posted 20 April 2005 23:31 I have recently moved to a property in San Diego on the coast that has a plot of dirt about 13′ x 10′ and I would like to have a little lawn there.…
sandini – posted 19 August 2015 13:36 Does anyone know the name of ground cover that is about 6-8 in high, green, easy to maintain, and inexpensive to purchase?
sharon eubank – posted 15 July 2002 16:57 I heard there was a new grass in Florida called Peanut Grass.. It’s sopposed to be very low maintance and hardly ever needs mowed blooms yellow flowers . Its a ground cover….Please…