Harsh conditions
By: Garden Gate staff
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Cover it up
Have a spot in your yard that seems “impossible?” Let plants solve your problems! Tough areas like along hot driveways or on steep slopes call for a resilient ground cover. They choke out weeds and, best of all, look good without much effort from you!
Click ahead for three bright ground covers that are quick to get established.
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Poppy mallow Callirhoe involucrata
These eye-popping magenta flowers bloom for months! Poppy mallow radiates out from a single taproot and spreads by reseeding, just pull any stray plants to keep it in check, or move small ones to another area that could use a ground cover.
Type Perennial
Blooms Magenta flowers with white centers in summer
Light Full sun
Soil Tolerates dry soil
Size 6 to 12 in. tall, 24 to 30 in. wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 4 to 9
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 9 to 1
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Gold moss sedum Sedum acre
Don’t worry about gold moss sedum’s slender stems and chartreuse foliage spreading too quickly — it has shallow roots that are easy to pull.
Type Perennial
Blooms Yellow in midsummer
Light Full sun to part shade
Soil Tolerates dry soil
Size 3 to 6 in. tall, 12 to 15 in. wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 4 to 9
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 9 to 1
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Geranium Geranium ‘Tiny Monster’
With lacy green leaves and long-blooming magenta flowers, ‘Tiny Monster’ makes a big impact. Shear it back to 4 or 5 in. tall after the first flush of blooms to encourage more vigorous flowers later.
Type Perennial
Blooms Magenta from early summer to fall
Light Full sun to part shade
Soil Moist, well-drained
Size 16 to 18 in. tall, 24 to 36 in. wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 4 to 8
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 8 to 1
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