Marianne's Response

Groundcovers for dry shade?

I am POSITIVE that it was your column, as that is the only local gardening column that I read. I had clipped it out to put with all of your other ones, but somehow misplaced it. It was about a groundcover that could take either wet or dry shade, and could be walked on, so it could not have been very tall. As I recall, it was quite tolerant of deep shade under pine and cypress trees and I believe that the flowers were blue. It could have been part of an article featuring plants that worked in “problem” areas. It is none of these last plants that you mentioned. I know that it was between June and December of 2015, because we had only purchased this house last May and I was planning on purchasing a bunch of them this spring (2016). What the heck could it be?!

Posted by susiepoet on May 21, 2016

Marianne's Response

Okay, I have looked at every column that I wrote from June until Sept 2015 and could not find it but I also did some research and have come up with these groundcovers for dry shade. My best guess is Plumbago that has deep blue blooms late in the summer. There is also houttunynia or chameleon plant with colorful foliage and many varieties of hardy crane'sbill geranium. The new dwarf ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' also blooms blue and is more compact than most ajuga. You have me stumped if none of these are the mystery plant. At least you can look at finding the perfect plant for a problem area as a treasure hunt - plant several different groundcovers and after a year you can decide which one does best and which one works best. Good Luck, Keep growing, Marianne Binetti

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