I want to finish this bed with some sweet woodruff as groundcover for after the bulbs finish. But will it creep into my grass?
sweet woodruff with bulbs, will it creep into my grass?
yes it will creep anywhere. The roots are shallow and it is easy to pull out, for me anyway I have loose soil. can you put a plastic barrier around the bed? it wouldn't have to go very deep.
If youre careful you can go around your beds edges with a weed killer to keep it in check.
Im doing that this year to fend off Hillis grass, LOL.
My friend Connies mum does it every year and never has to edge her flowers!
I like my sweet woodruff, but it does have a tendency to wander. As guspuppy said, the roots are shallow and it doesn't seem too tough to yank out of places you don't want it.
My garden bed where the sweet woodruff is planted is edged with medium-sized river rocks. The sweet woodruff has never escaped the rock boundary out into the grass. So I do suspect some kind of simple edging would help.
Thank you everyone, that's just the kind of info I needed, I think I will plant the sweet woodruff and put in some edging.
Does the sweet woodruff need shade or moisture? I think I have secretly loved it since the last Flower Show I went to - about 15 or 20 years ago - but it was used as part of a woodland water feature, so I always assumed it needed woods and streams. We have shade but no stream. We have a hose. ^_^ Carrie
I transplanted some sweet woodruff to a south facing slope under some oak trees and it is thriving with average moisture. Where it was growing last year, a few roots must of been missed because new plants popped up. And it will travel without a barrier. I love the sight of it coming back in the spring and the fragrance is great, too.
Carrie - my sweet woodruff gets about 4 hours of sun per day plus some dappled shade, and it doesn't seem to mind average soil and moisture conditions. It's been a very carefree little ground cover. About the only thing I've done to it was to trim it back a bit last year when it got a little taller than I wanted it, but that's obviously not necessary; it was an aesthetic thing for me. The sweet woodruff didn't seem to mind the haircut, either. ;)
Plus, putting a few sprigs in your car (especially in the summer) will make it smell wonderful!
Hmmmm, I gotta get me some, I guess! x, Carrie
Without edging you'll get creeping both ways :) Grass does not stay edged either. What a wonderful setting you have though!
Will Sweet Woodruff crowd out hostas, or can they co-exist?
Surprisingly, sweet woodruff can take dry shade as well. I planted it on a barren hillside that gets late afternoon sun and it is spreading nicely. I have periwinkle planted among my hosta and it is beautiful. I would think that sweet woodruff would be equally nice.
Joyce
I have it all over a bed of hosta, but I have worried that it might strangle or at least inhibit the hosta over time.
K, I'm looking this stuff up in Plantfiles and then seeing who has it to trade! Carrie