Ground cover plants are generally considered very easy to care for. But if they are supposed to fulfill a specific purpose beyond just filling an area, some care is definitely necessary. We'll show you what's important when it comes to ivy, periwinkle and the like.
How do you properly care for ground cover plants?
The care of ground cover plants such as ivy or evergreens includes regular pruning to limit the area and compact it to inhibit weeds. With frequent cutting, moderate fertilization can be helpful to maintain plant he alth.
When ground cover plants need to be cared for
Ground cover plants are certainly something for the lazy - they happily green and beautify areas that can't or don't want to be taken care of much. For example, border strips along the house entrance or along paths and in the front garden. The fast-growing, robust plant carpets are also ideal for planting graves that are not visited very often.
If you want to use a ground cover plant in the garden more specifically, you have to take care of it from time to time. This applies especially to ornamental ground cover plants in structured beds, to very vigorous varieties that border other beds and also to ground cover plants that are only intended to prevent weeds. General care requirements for ground cover plants are as follows:
- Pruning to limit the area
- Compaction for weed inhibition
- possibly fertilization
Pruning care
Cutting is the most important care measure for ground cover plants. Given the generally insensitive and rather assertive nature of the ground cover, they hardly need any “feeding” help in the form of special watering or fertilization (€9.00 on Amazon). If you offer it a suitable location and soil, it will generally take care of itself - and in excess.
Therefore, it is advisable to regularly keep it under control as it spreads over the area. In particular, ground cover plants that form runners and are very vigorous, such as ivy, evergreens or wildflowers, should be cut off at the edges of the surface again and again in order to prevent uncontrolled growth and the surface should also be trimmed.
Compression
If you use a ground cover specifically to avoid having to weed an area, you should encourage it to grow densely. This is also done through regular pruning - by repeatedly shortening the outer shoots, you encourage the plant not to sprout further out, but rather to keep sprouting at the base. This compacts the plant carpet and improves weed inhibition.
Fertilization
Compaction is of course also useful for ornamental ground cover plants that you cultivate as accurate cushions in the bed. It compresses the ground cover cushions and simply makes them look neater. But if you trim it very often, you should give it some fertilizer at the same time - but only in moderation.
