Ground Covers South Florida Style v.I

Happy New Year everyone!!! 
I know you want a break from all this holiday madness right!?!
That's why you're here, a place to soothe the soul.

Today we are talking ground cover plants.  What took me so long?   Geesh, I have no idea but we're here so let's get to it.   There are a few general terms to school you on regarding landscaping which you probably already know but like my Dad always say's, "That's fine but I'm going to tell you anyway...(insert deep Santa belly laugh here....AWWW-HAA-HA-HAAA)".   Well came out a bit more maniacal then it really sounds but you get the gist. 

In South Florida there are about five very general categories of flora almost all landscapes will have: tree's, palm's, shrub's, sod and the category we are going to talk about today...ground covers.  See, how easy is that!?!  So what's a ground cover?  Generally speaking it's a plant that is usually smaller than 2-3 ft high and tends to cover lots of square footage of ground to keep soil in place and weeds out of the landscape.  I like to use it as one of several layers in a landscape.  It can be used as the small front layer with the taller plants in the back as you might see in a formal design or mingled in between other plants for a natural look or all on it's own as a ground cover...hee hee couldn't resist.

There are thousand and thousands of ground covers to choose from but the one thing you must make sure before investing lots of money on ground covers...wait for it, wait for it...pick the right plant for the right place.  I see it all the time here, many inexperienced landscapers and/or trades people using plants that have absolutely no business being planted in the spaces they use them in.  It's a real shame because it's usually the case where the plant grows out of control since it wasn't a ground cover to begin with or the wrong type of ground cover.  Unfortunately the home owner ends up footing the bill to hire someone for a clean out and/or to redo the landscape correctly.  Hopefully we can shed some light on what's a ground cover and how they grow.

So let's start with some easy peasy ones.

Liriope, liriope muscari, and it's cousin variegated liriope, liriope muscari 'variegata'.  This is a type of clumping lily "grass" that is a very long living perennial plant.  I've seen some green liriope as old as 30 plus years old.  I don't believe the variegated has as long of a life but still lives for many many years.  Liriope is not really a true grass but is part of the lily family.  It's traditionally used as a border plant but looks amazing in mass plantings.  It can grow in full sun to part shade and can grow in a variety of soil types.  Seems to grow best in a part sun/part shade, less sandy soil with consistent watering.  It has a tall purple flower kind of like a hyacinth crossed with heather.  
Grows to be about 2-3 ft high and super full.
Can be found at almost every garden center.

Liriope 'super blue'

Liriope 'variegated'

Another "grass looking type of lily" which I have recently fallen in love with is called Siam lily, chlorophytum laxum 'bichetii'.  This is in the same family as the spider plant but it doesn't grow the offshoots.  This is a well behaved, clumping perennial and can grow in the shadier areas of a garden.  Has a cute little white flower that is a perfect compliment to this beautiful white and green leaf plant.  Grows about 12-16 inches high but on the slower side.  Prefers a moist compost rich soil but well drained in a part sun/part shade area.

Sweet Siam lilies just planted on one of our projects.

Siam lily picture from Agristarts

Siam lily picture from Agristarts

Keeping on the whole "grass looking lilies" theme for a moment longer, is mondo grass, ophiopogon japonicus.  This is another clumping perennial with lots of history here in South Florida.  It has a few different forms, the standard mondo grass which is the largest variety growing up to 12-14 inches high.  It's cousin 'dwarf mondo' that grows to about 6-10 inches high and it's other cousin 'nana' mondo which is only about 3-5 inches high.  Super compact slow grower so if you don't want to see the ground, you would need to purchase a lot of them to plant right next to each other.   But this show stopper will look like a super deep green carpet.  No maintenance required other than water.  Has the same growing requirements as the liriope with a similar flower.

This is at one of our client's homes...with the regular mondo grass in the front as a mass grouping.

You can see how much it's filled in over the past six months and one hurricane later, lol.

On this job I used it as a single row in the front with balaria obtusa in the middle and croton 'gold dust' as the back hedge plant.

The blue daze, evolvulus glomeratus, is an evergreen ground cover with a lot to give a garden.  It's soft downy leaves have a nice bluish/grayish green color that compliments the darker green plants in a landscape.  It does not have a long life span (maybe a couple of years) but it will bloom all year round until it retires.  When one of the branches touches the ground it roots thereby spreading in a nice compact way.  It gets to be about 2 ft high by 2-3 ft wide, grows in full sun, not too picky on the soil type except sand and can take short periods of no water once established.  Will tend to get scale if it gets too much water.

Blue daze in it's finest blue.

The blue daze here is going to fill the space nicely along with the variegated liriope,
caladiums and alococia's.

Green island ficus, ficus microcarpa, is a plant you literally find all over South Florida on residential and commercial properties!  As much as I hate to admit it and didn't want to include it, green island ficus has it's benefits as a ground cover, but I still try not to use it if possible.  It's super hardy, long living, has deep green shiny leaves and can take constant trimming from maintenance crews like a champ.  Though it is a very slow grower so if you want to fill the space, spend the money and buy a larger size.  They can take all kinds of light from full sun to part shade. They like regular watering but can be drought tolerant.  On the opposite end if they get too much water the leaves will yellow and drop.  Be careful of the white sap when trimming it back, some people can get an allergic reaction or rash if it touches their skin.  And it's like glue, super sticky.   Even though it grows slow, you will need to keep an eye on this mischievous plant.  As it's name tells you, it is a ficus so once established,  it can grow quite large and will grow lots of roots and mini roots around and on anything in it's path....walls, pipes, lights, trees, on it's self...you get the gist.

On one of our client's homes where the green island ficus is in the background, duranta gold mound is in the front and the middle is alternanthera 'Brazilian red hot' and croton 'Johanna Coppinger'.

Portulaca, portulaca grandiflora, is another group of ground covers that will be sure to blow your mind with bright color that loves our intense South Florida sun.  This is one of a handful of plants that thrive in our harsh dry summer days.  There are many cultivars of this plant that will give your garden lots to be proud of.  They have a soft semi-succulent leaf and stem.  You can literally snap off a piece, stick it in the ground and it'll grow.  They have a low rambling growth habit which will spread out over time.  Florida has a few native portulaca's and purslane's that are pretty and edible but not as showy as the hybrids.

Here I used the bright big pink portulaca in the front with variegated liriope,

Here you can see how I used it as a border plant which will fill the whole area.

One of my favorite ground covers to use is the infamous ground orchid, spathoglottis plicata.   There are many types of terrestrial orchids but this one has made it's way into the retail market by storm.  Now there are so many beautiful cultivars to choose from than just the original purple color.  They grow best in part sun part shade but I've used them in full sun with regular watering and they do great.  They grow in a variety of soils but seem to prefer a moist rich soil.  If they are too wet then the roots rot and they get scale.  They are a long living plant that if treated right will bloom constantly for you.  The rich green leaves are long and bend over like a grass.  Depending on the cultivar the plant itself can grow up to 3-4 ft high and then you have the gorgeous flower spikes shooting out of the plants like fireworks.  Truly a must have!

I definitely need to get a better picture of what this landscape looks like now because the
ground orchids are so full and magnificent!  They have not stopped blooming since the
day we planted them for our client back in 2015.  This variety is called 'mellow yellow'

Here is 'Mellow yellow' up close...I know right!?!  Gorgeous!!!

This ground orchid is called 'Tropical punch'

This one is called 'Berry banana' from Excelsa Gardens

The trailing glory flower or Spanish shawl, dissotis rotundifolia, is certainly a true ground cover if there ever was one.  This plant can totally take over a space with it's spreading growth habit.  It can grow right over other plants that are in it's way by creating this mass carpet of beautiful foliage with purple-pink flowers.  Needs full sun and fairly drought tolerant once established.  If you have a lot of space that needs filling and you are on a budget, this is the fast growing plant for you!  Though side note: this plant is not for small gardens nor for ecologically sensitive areas as it can become invasive.

These are in a 3 gallon pot and you can see how they already want to roam and spread out.

Beautiful ground cover of Spanish shawl

On the opposite end of the spectrum is the purple queen or purple heart, setcreasea pallida, which also is considered a trailing plant but isn't a wild child like the trailing glory flower.  There are a few different varieties in what we call the oyster plant family which has two kinds: clumping and trailing.  They are easy to grow, low maintenance, grows in a variety of soil types, grows in full sun to part shade and has such a beautiful purple color which adds depth to the garden.  Be careful of the sap when trimming it back, some people can get an allergic reaction or rash if it touches their skin.

I used it here to grow in between the Siam lily, croton 'magnificent' and donkey ears.

So the last one for today is a native called golden creeper, ernodea littoralis, which in my opinion is completely under used.  I would rather use this than that ridiculous jasmine minima anyday, which we will talk about in ground covers part deux.  This golden beauty is so gorgeous and can be utilized in a few ways.  One way is being shaped into a small ground cover hedge but that can be a lot of work.   Just letting it ramble on it's own accord and/or keeping it trimmed in a natural way is the best.  The city of Pompano Beach uses it in their medians along the roadway.  It's a long living, full sun loving, drought tolerant creeping/meandering plant with lots to offer your landscape.

I stopped to take this while driving down Dixie Highway in Pompano Beach.
As you can see, there were no cars anywhere around lol.
They use golden creeper in the medians and keep it trimmed.

Here is another picture of the golden creeper in the Pompano Beach median.

Well that's it for today friends, though don't fret, I already started a ground cover post v.II that I will finish later this week for you.  There are so many wonderful ground covers so don't be intimidated to use a few in your garden.  
If you have any questions please feel free to message me or post a comment.

Wishing you all a very happy new year with many wonderful blessings to come to you in 2018!  
Happy Gardening and Best Wishes,
Sheri B.
xoxo