We are widening our driveway and that has left a nearly vertical bank right opposite the front of the house (we live in the mountains and the house is perched on the side of a hill). I have researched all the low-growing ground covers but I need something like ivy and vinca minor fills the bill. Does anyone have a bunch they want to trade or mail for postage?
I need vinca minor
Have a whole yard of it in Charlotte you can dig and haul away. Oh maybe that's major, its blue and you can say goodbye to that hillside and any other place it might settle.
Sidney
I have it and am digging and throwing.....send me you address etc. You don't want ivy...(you really don't want v. minor either), but if it is in an out of the way place I guess it will do just fine. Remember this does not make a reliable CONSISTANT ground cover. Wish you could just come to Baltimore...it would be so much easier.
do you still need vinca?
ps you have dmail.
ness
v. major is an exotic invasive pest species in many parts of the southeast. Beyond that larger ecological problem, v. major is also very agressive in cultivation -- a real garden thug. My state's native plant society lists some native alternatives to invasive ground covers that you might consider:
RECOMMENDED NATIVE GROUND COVERS:
Evergreen: Golden ragwort (Senecio aureus) and green-and-gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) have showy yellow flowers in spring and grow in moist shade. Wild stonecrop (Sedum ternatum) has lacy white flowers; it grows in thin, rocky soil in light shade. Moss phlox (Phlox subulata), the familiar landscape plant, has a looser form in the wild, and usually has white flowers; it tolerates very poor soil but needs good drainage. Semi-evergreen: Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens) is indigenous to the mountains but will grow here. It looks much like its Japanese cousin. Deciduous: Wild ginger (Asarum canadense) has kidney-shaped leaves that seem to sparkle in spring. Not a culinary plant, its roots do have a gingery scent. It needs moist shade.
Thanks Everyone! I ended up with all the vinca minor I could possibly use. Luckily, because it is in the shade and our climate is cool, I don't think it will get out of hand.
Yeah right! Glad you found it though.
ROFL!
If it's invasive in the shade up here (and trust me it is)
down there........
We shifted to the variegated vinca.
Much less invasive and prettier.
Ric
Still if all you want is to hold a side bank in place it should work. when it slips into somewhere else you'll just have to be quick on the draw.
Yes it will be perfect in a place like that...God knows I have it many places like that (but also in places I do not want it)..but that's my fault from years ago thinking it was "special". I also have a huge area of Lamium which at one time I thought was nice and this is really bad. My husband calls it ground cancer.
Levil, You have the most amazing place! Most people have individual plants, you have drifts covering many square feet. I enjoy every picture you post. Ken
Thanks...but believe me I have ALOT of individual plants..just stuck here and there...it's a stick garden...I stick things here and there.
Levilyla - I am still thinking the lamium is nice - am wondering just how much trouble I'm going to be in! So far it has kept an area that I haven't planted weed-free & that's a plus, at least it's prettier than weeds. Always thought I could just dig it up when I got ready to put something there, although I am now thinking that that might be a fantasy...
That is exactly where mine is now..in a place that would otherwise just be nothing but junk...We DID have it in other places awhile back and also in one place now which has to be moved. It has very tenacious roots...my husband is the one who pulls it up. If you roundup it .. it takes several applications and then you still have the roots there. Not an easy thing to get rid of.
Thanks for the info - I'll be a little more careful about letting it go anywhere else! Guess I'm in for some fun when I want to plant there though - at least I know what to expect.