12 Groundcover Plants You Should Never Plant

These aggressive ground cover plant spread out of control condition quickly and are extremely difficult to eradicate .

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Rapid growth , usually a desirablecharacteristic of groundcover plant , can recoil . Some democratic groundcovers are so belligerent that they choke out any other plants in their route . Attempts to transfer them are verbose at best and impossible at worst ; some groundcovers are nearly impossible to eradicate . Here is a list of 12 of the worst offenders that you should never plant in your yard .

beach vitex plant

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Groundcover plants are classified as invasive on a local , body politic , or federal horizontal surface because they not only take over home landscape painting but also escape into born state , outcompetingnative plantsand altering the ecosystem .

Beach Vitex

Initially innovate to North America from Korea , beach vitex ( Vitex rotundifolia ) was intended to help protect beaches from erosion , but this fast-growing plant rapidly grew out of control . It is a low - growing woody shrub that tolerate rough growing circumstance often obtain on sand dune . Beach vitex has small , circular leave and a smooth , leathery grain . It produces bunch of empurpled bloom in May .

Bishop’s Weed

Andre ' Baranowski

Also bid goutweed , bishop ’s Mary Jane ( Aegopodium podagraria)forms a low , leafy mat of variegated green and white foliage . As a ground cover , its impenetrable canopy is very good at prevent weeds , but it spreads too aggressively itself to be useful in any landscape painting . When it escapes into the natural state , it is known to apace displace aboriginal species and stamp down the organisation of conifers and other native Tree .

Chameleon Plant

Dean Schoeppner

Chameleon industrial plant ( Houttuynia cordata ) is a repeated groundcover from Southeast Asia . It has variegated , heart - shaped leaf on speedily spreading stems that stand 1 to 2 feet grandiloquent . It thrives in shade and moist soil but grows just about anywhere . Once establish , it ’s nearly impossible to remove . If the smallest solution is left in the grime , it will quick regrow .

Creeping Jenny

Bob Stefko

aboriginal to Europe and Asia , creep Jenny ( Lysimachia nummularia ) was introduced to North America as an ornamental ground cover and then escaped into aboriginal areas where it is now considered an ecological threat . Its slender stems branch out from the mother plant and form roots wherever the leaf node touch the territory . It grows out of bound very rapidly .

English Ivy

An evergreen vine that forms a thick mantle of leaf at ground layer , English English ivy ( Hedera genus Helix ) will catch nearby plants including trees . It scramble up trees , engulfs branches , blending and tardily killing the plant . Its waxy leaves repel herbicides , and any spell of etymon will quickly resprout . If you care the look ofEnglish ivy , only grow it as a houseplant .

Ice Plant

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Ice flora ( Carpobrotus edulis ) is not to be confuse with the well - acquit brave icing flora ( Delosperma cooperi ) . This plant is hardy in temperate and tropical realm ( zona 8–11 ) . has become exceptionally problematic in California where it is displacing native species . chick carry ice plant seeds into natural areas ; seed quickly sprout and work dense matt of foliage .

Japanese Bloodgrass

Blaine moat

The striking red leafage ofJapanese bloodgrass ( Imperata cylindrica)has entice thousands of gardeners into planting this noxious grassy groundcover . Considered one of the 10 uncollectible smoke in the world and listed on USDA ’s Noxious Weed List , Japanese bloodgrass is a literal scourge . Although the reddened cultivar ‘ Rubra ’ is not considered invasive , it often regress to the extremely encroaching 4- to 5 - foot - tall immature class .

Ribbon Grass

Marty Baldwin

Like Japanese bloodgrass , thread grass ( Phalaris arundinacea ) develop out of ascendence quickly . Often planted to foreclose erosion and stabilize a slope , ribbongrass spring up chop-chop , forming a tall groundcover that is almost unsufferable to get rid of due to its fine and dense root word system .

Vinca

Also fuck asperiwinkle , vinca(Vinca minor)has glossy , evergreen leaf and purple or white-hot flowers in spring . It has a risky reputation for escaping home landscapes and taking root word in raw areas where it go out wildflowers and other natives . While it seems to be well - behave in home landscape , avoid any peril and do n’t plant it .

Wintercreeper

A tenacious evergreen vine that grows in both poor or good soil and sun or shade , wintercreeper ( Euonymus fortunei ) masquerade as a garden problem solver , but do n’t be fool by this job plant . In short order , it shape a heavy mat of foliage at priming coat level , destroying every plant in its wake . It also climbs Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree with abandon . It is near inconceivable to exterminate .

Yellow Archangel

A appendage of the mint crime syndicate , yellow archangel ( genus Lamium galeobdolon ) spreads rapidly . It raise about 2 feet tall with sensationalistic flower spindle in early summer . Stems root wherever they touch the ground , making it an fast-growing , weedy flora that chokes out aboriginal species . It is specially destructive in the Pacific Northwest .

Japanese pachysandra

Japanesepachysandra(Pachysandra terminalis ) grows in shade and dry , crumbly soil , allow lush back where other plant refuse to develop . This perennial is such a dogged industrial plant that it browse far beyond the initial planting bottom , destroying the ecosystem in its backwash . bunch up forming nativesedge grasses(Carex spp . ) are well-heeled - care , drought - tolerant replacements for invasive Japanese pachysandra .

Non-Invasive Groundcover Plant Alternatives

Fromlow - originate perennialsto short shrubs , there are stack of thickly growing groundcover you could plant rather . These stellar garden citizens foreclose skunk , cool the root zones of nearby plants , and protect the soil from wind and H2O erosion , yet without being too aggressive or invasive . These includewintergreen , golden star topology ( Chrysogonum virginianum ) , andbarren strawberry .

Bishop’s weed around a tree