Ground Cover for steep bank

[BTI]

Need some help, thought you all might be able to help.
We have alot of banks on our property that can only be mowed with a weed-eater.
This is very time consuming, I want to kill off all of the weeds etc.
We have that under control.
The thing we need to figure out is what we can put on these banks for ground cover and erosion control that doesn't need to be cut.
Vines etc.
One boundry is the road the other is our lot (direct sun very little water).
This is one bank.
The others are creek banks.
I have checked around on the 'net.
Everything I seem to find is advertising, saying theirs is best.
Hoping some of you all have found something that works.

Thanks,
BTI

 

[RoyJackson]

I like juniper but it needs full sunlight to thrive.

 

[KentT]

Look at Vinca Minor (i.e. Periwinkle) for anything but the hottest, driest spots. It prefers shade or partial shade, but will thrive in full sunlight in moist soil. For the hot dry spots, you way want to consider Crown Vetch. Vinca is a beautifuly, glossy green vining plant that won't grow over 12" tall -- usally about 8" -- and will completely mat the area without climbing way up trees and taking over. Crown Vetch is a taller, slower spreading plant with deep roots that many highway departments put on steep banks to control erosion. Crown Vetch is a legume and actually increases the nitrogen in the soild.

Note that both can be somewhat invasive, so they may try to spread to areas where you don't want them -- that's the downside of any groundcover that spreads and fills in well. Keep that in mind and consider how you'll keep it contained...

Another alternative for the hot, sunny roadbank is "Native Daylilies" -- though not truly native -- you'd probably want to mulch them initially to get them established in a hot dry spot. But once they've gotten started, they'll fill in nicely, and are virtually indestructible. I used them above the old stone retaining wall around my garden, and they've spread nicely, filling in, and are doing a great job holding the soil in place and stopping erosion.

 

[Charlesaf3]

KenT, is that in Mass? I hope so, have similar issues.

 

[KentT]

KenT, is that in Mass? I hope so, have similar issues.

All three of the plants I described should work virtually anywhere in the US, short of the desert southwest and similar dry, western climates...

I've used Vinca Minor in Tennessee, Texas and Massachusetts... In Mass, it does well everywhere but on hot, dry southern slopes.

Vinca minor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've used Native Daylilies in Utah, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and have just planted some in Tennessee. They'll grow well in Massachusetts, either in sun or shade. They'll grow thicker in full sun... They're almost a "ditch weed" in the Midwest, especially around old farmsteads. They're hardy in Zones 3-10.

eBurgess.com | Native Daylily | Product Detail

Crown Vetch is (or at least was) used by highway departments throughout the Eastern US, though perhaps not quite as much as previously, since it can become invasive...

Securigera varia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

All three plants will spread -- that's why they make good groundcovers -- and you have to be able to contain them. Daylilies are likely the least invasive, but they'll still spread...

 

[bigshovel]

If you choose to plant Crown Vetch be prepared for it to never die or be killed. Once you have it, it's for good. Immune to every chemical known to this universe and any other.

Brad

 

[BTI]

Thanks guys!
I'm looking very closely at the Vinca Minor (Periwinkle).
It's along the lines of what I'm hunting for.

BTI

 

[bigtiller]

Thanks guys!
I'm looking very closely at the Vinca Minor (Periwinkle).
It's along the lines of what I'm hunting for.

BTI

I think that is what is called Creeping Charlie. If it is, then this is the first time I have heard of someone wanting it. It is the most cussed at plant in anyone's yard in these parts.

 

[KentT]

I think that is what is called Creeping Charlie. If it is, then this is the first time I have heard of someone wanting it. It is the most cussed at plant in anyone's yard in these parts.

Nope. Creeping Charlie is a totally different plant:

Controlling Creeping Charlie

Had to fight it in my back yard in Minnesota...

 

[4720 OWNER]

Ranks up there with dandylions and thistle. Good in the right place, just not mine.