Question regarding Pachysandra :)

I was told that Pachysandra is perfect for very shady areas, which I have, but I'm not sure how invasive a plant it is. Does anyone know??

Thanks for the help!
:) Glenda

The common type of pachysandra (p. terminalis) is a reliable care-free groundcover for shade.
Stays green late into winter. Leaves stay fresh-looking. But it certainly spreads. Too much so, for many purposes. It definitely will bowl over nearby delicate plants.

The less commonly planted native pachysandra (p. procumbens) is a far superior plant, in my mind.
It spreads much more slowly, has beautiful flowers in early spring, and there are several stunning cultivars with beautifully mottled foliage. I particularly like 'Angola', which is truly beautiful - one of my favorite woodland plants. But p. procumbens isn't going to rapidly cover ground like p. terminalis, so the choice depends on what your need is.

The spot where I want to use Pachysandra is under a large Maple tree. There are no delicate plants nearby, only grass, which I'm hoping it will choke out. The ground rises drastically from the driveway's edge, making a steep 5 foot tall slope that is unmowable, and the Maple tree is at the top of the slope, at my lawn level. It is around the base of the Maple, and down the steep slope, that I want the Pachysandra to grow. It will be in constant shade, but will have excellent indirect light during the day, due to being up on the slope. .....This steep 5 foot tall slope goes the full width of my property, along the road. If I ever get the junipers ripped out that grow along the top of the slope, which I hate, I wouldn't mind it taking over the whole width of the slope along the road, and adding a nice picket fence around my yard. :) Sounds pretty, huh? :-D I LOVE picket fences!!

I have some pacasandria in the from yard. Its been there around three years now. Started out with around three plants. Just now its starting to fill in nicely and looking very nice. Im glad it there and doing great. Like this stuff. Mine actually grew under the fence from my neighbors house so it was free!!!! Better yet. :) She laughs when it tell her that!!! Shes a great person. ronna

Glenda, sounds like a good choice for the site. Go for it!

I have a rather large sloped area covered in pachysandra. (Probably the less superior kind). It does fill in nicely, but not terribly fast. As weerobin said, it takes a few years to really get going. Just above the slope I have terraces where I grow perennials. It does creep into those terraces, but I just yank it out each spring and maybe again later in the season. If it will abut grass you don't want anyway, I say go for it too!

Thanks everyone! I'm going for it!! It is such a beautiful plant... I started planting after SongsofJoy's last post, and as I was pulling each plug Pachysandra out of the flat, it had already started sending out shoots to start new plants!! As I planted each one, I watered it with 'root n' grow' to help it get a good start, so hopefully it will take just fine.
...Cross your fingers for me!! :)

Thanks again for your help!!!
Glenda

It'll do great - pachysandra is hard to kill. It does need regular water while establishing. Once established, it needs practically nothing. I never water mine.

Awesome! I'll try to post a picture of it once I have it planted. The flat I bought has 50 cells in it. Hopefully that will be enought to do the area I want done. If not, I'll head back to the nursery today to get more. I'm planting them about 12 inches apart.... How long do you think it will take to fill in. 2 to 3 years, or more? Will occational watering speed up the growth at all?

You can take cuttings off your Pachysandra next spring and start them in a growing medium. They're pretty easy to propagate and you won't have to buy any more. Pachysandra can get expensive.

That's a great idea! Hadn't thought of that... Do I use hormone and put the cuttings into little cells of dirt, like you do to get seeds started??

I paid about $36.00 for a flat of 50. I bought them at Bordines Nursery. They're very healthy and are even starting to flower. Setting in the flat, I could see how pretty they will be when they're all filled in. :)

Hey, will Pachysandra stay gree all winter?? That would be nice....

Planting them 12 inches apart, it will take about 3 years to fill into a thick carpet. Pastime's suggestion will speed it up. Definitely water them for the rest of the summer on a regular basis.

A great place to get pachysandra if you're buying a lot is Classy Groundcovers. They have a good score in DG Watchdog and they ship large, healthy plants for a fraction of the cost you usually pay at a nursery.

My pachysandra is evergreen. Gets a little yellowish green in the winter, but it doesnt' die back.

Thanks SOJ... I checked out Classy Groundcovers (cool website! I saved them in my 'favorites') and they want $53.50 for 1 pack of 50 Pachysandra plants. Makes me feel a lot better about my $36.00 for 50 at Bordines. :) lol

Good deal for you then. I think the prices go down dramatically if you buy in larger quantities. I bought several hundred Vinca when I ordered from them and it was far cheaper than anything I found locally.

Gardenlady123, if you're still on this thread, does your Pachysandra stay green all winter, here in Michigan??? You're about 100 miles west of me.

....By the way, your part of Michigan is beautiful. I was in the Battlecreek area a week ago (my first time there) and I loved how the land rolls there. I grew up in Metro Detroit and it looks nothing like your area. :-P

Yes I believe it does... When its not covered with the white stuff....Mine has really filled in the nicest this summer. I almost pulled it out last year but now Im glad that I didn't. Thanks for the compliment on this side of the stae. It is pretty, I don't think Ive ever been in you neck of the woods either. ronna

I'm way out in the country, in Livingston County. The farm land here is pretty, but not as pretty as your area. If you've never been to the east side of the state, save your gas. As far and the land and 'view' goes, it's not worth coming to. I was raised on the far east side, so I can say that. :) lol

....Glad to hear it says green in the winter time!!! :-D

Glenda it really can't be that bad can it? Have you ever been in the U.P.? Now thats beautiful...

Everywhere on the east side that I have been (I was raised there so I've seen most of it) is flat as a pancake and 'blah'. Detroit is old, and I'm not talking a nice historic old, and metro Detroit is heavily congested. ...Wild horses couldn't drag me back there!

I have been in the UP many years ago. It was pretty, but my heart is in the South, and any place that reminds me of Dixie I'm immediately fond of. :)

....."Oh I wish I was in the land of cotton..."

Aw glenda... must be awful to be wanting to be some where else. Ive never lived in a nother state. Ive been thru Tenn. its beutiful. Of course the states in between here and Florida. My son lives in Georgia. He is in the Army there. He says its way to hot!!! Really not to fond of it. The heat that is. He says the cock roaches are huge!!! He really had never seen any befroe, was surprised at the size. He goes back next week. Then deployed. :(. Well have a great weekend sure hope you get to go to the Land of Dixie soon. Ronna

This message was edited Aug 2, 2008 4:11 PM

Glenda it's awfully pretty around here, you are welcome to come and visit since I need some weeding done!!!

Doug

Glenda_Michigan: Dipping cuttings in a rooting hormone would probably help them get a good start. I wouldn't use anything smaller than the cell packs you get when you buy annuals.

Thanks for the tips, pastime! That will be a good project for me. It ended up that I did go back to Bordines to get another flat of Pachysandra. I got them all planted before we left for the cottage. I watered them all with "root n grow" as I planted them, and then my neighbor's daughter is watering them for me while we're gone. I sure hope they do ok. They looked GREAT when I left. 2 flats were perfect or the area I was doing. ....Cross your fingers for me! :)

Thanks for the invitation Doug, but I've got plenty of my own weeding to do!! lol Besides, when I head southward, I always go about 175 miles due east of you, where all my family lives. ....I always do appreciate southern hospitality though! :)

Gardenlady, In my 'perfect world', I would live between Knoxville and the north side of Atlanta, or somewhere near Hendersonville, North Carolina.... If possible, I'd like to be just north of what I call the "fire ant line", so that I wouldn't have to put up with them in my garden. BUT...if I had to, I'd put up with them before I'd live in the north again. I just hate winter and gray skies. All that keeps me here are my grandbabies. I won't leave them.....

Wonderful your a grandmother! How many do you have? Sure hope the pacasandras doing good for you!

Gardenlady, we have 6 grandchildren all 7 years old and younger!! All boys, except for the youngest, Lilli, who is almost 3! We have all 6 living near us and we get to see them just about every day. We've been blessed way beyond any of our dreams!!! Both of our girls married wonderful men, who we love as sons, and we all are a very close family. .....Life is good! :)

Wonderful for you!!! Sounds like a great life....