Evergreen ground cover as weed suppressant

I've read a few articles about using low growing, spreading evergreens to keep weeds down in flower beds. Sounds good, but one a thought springs to mind. What about any herbaceous perennials that are in there. Would they still come back in spring even though they'd have to navigate through the ground cover foliage? What about spring bulbs? If the plants that you want can make it through unaffected that why wouldn't weeds make it through too?

 

There's some sense in it in that it may help with any seeds that come in, and might help to prevent germination of those seeds, but perennial weeds it doesnt stop-if anything it prevents you from being able to see them until they are big and cumbersome to remove. It also doesnt stop the herbaceous perennials or bulbs.

 

I'd be very wary about introducing evergreen ground cover plants into a bed where they were herbaceous perennials or bulbs. How would you fork the beds over in the autumn/spring, spread compost or add plant food if the bed is filled with a ground cover plant? And like Claire says, you can't see what's going on with the really troublesome weeds like convolvulus or oxalis.

The herbaceous perennials and bulbs would still come through but I don't think they'd like the competition, particularly in a dry summer. You might get a build up of powdery mildew in the dry conditions.

And then you'd have to choose your ground cover plant very carefully. I've moved into a house where the previous owners used speedwell as a ground cover plant. It had got everywhere and it's taken ages to get rid of it. I'm still finding isolated examples of it growing in the lawn!

Don't do it!

 

I agree, you need a clean bed to start with ...

 

I would agree with the others - keep groundcover away from a herbaceous border.

I made a bad mistake this year. A couple of years ago a friend gave me some forget-me-note, there were only a few the first year and they were lovely, more in the second year, but this year was a solid mass of ground cover. My mistake was to do nothing till they were close to ending their flowering. When I pulled them out I realised how much damage had been done to things below that had been smothered. I lost a lot of small plants that I had planted in the previous autumn, and nearly lost some long established ones. Forge-me-nots are well named. I won't forget them. :D

 

l would reccomend Pachysandra, low growing, evergreen, shade tolerant, flowering and easy to get rid of if you want shot of it.:gnthb:

 

Thanks all. I see there is resounding alarms of caution in your responses, which kind of supports what I already suspected. You've convinced me. I see no real need for it anyway. My main flower bed is filling up nicely as it is. Obviously most of it will vanish in late autumn or winter, but with a bit of luck the snowdrops will appear shortly after, and then the perennials should start to make a come back.

Actually that's a point. My neighbour gave me loads of snowdrop bulbs a few weeks ago which I planted straight away (on his advice) all over the place. Since then I've planted all manner of stuff in the same space. Will I have killed off the snowdrop bulbs in doing so?

 

"Will I have killed off the snowdrop bulbs in doing so?"

I very much doubt it.

 

Personally I would not use Pachysandra if you wish to have bulbs come through it. And if you have to rake leaves in the fall I found Pachysandra to be a pain to rake out the leaves in it.
I like Sweet William seems to do the trick and gives way for bulbs under it.

 

I thought Sweet William was just an annual?

 

"I thought Sweet William was just an annual? "

Biennial. Flowers the following Spring (IIRC!)

 

Sorry, I meant Sweet Woodruff.