Ground cover for sloped embankment

coin

Hi,
I'm trying to figure out what would be good ground cover flowering plants for a sloped embankment (think motorway style!)

It is very good topsoil which would be in full sunlight from 10am each day and I'd like it to spread out well.

I'm looking for something with very little maintenance so that when I go away for few months my wife won't have to bother about it.

I'm very new to gardening so excuse my ignorance with this subject. Thanks in advance.

padi89

How big is the area and how fast do you want it covered?

looksee

Hypericum (st john's wort), prostrate ceanothus, vinca (periwinkle), ground cover roses (though not easy to weed around!), heathers, some cotoneasters, prostrate conifers, ornamental strawberry - goes mad, fantastic ground cover! Persicaria - knotweed - weed is right, pretty pink flowers, it will cover a huge space, very thoroughly. Osteospermum - African daisy. Geranium (not the bright coloured summer ones, the perennial ones). All of these are very easy and vigorous, and don't need much attention. There are loads more, these are just the ones that came to mind.

coin

Total area would be approx 500sqm.

Ideally it would be covered up for summer but I'm open to a dose of reality!

coin

Wow, thanks for the info. I'll get googling to see what things look like.

Would most of these spread easily or it is possible to take cuttings next year?

looksee

Whatever you get it is not going to be covered for this summer, I'm afraid you are going to have to do some weeding or membrane (though that would be difficult on a slope) this year and possibly next. The third year you should be getting there, though if there is any scutch it will make its way through anything. The membrane would also be rather resistant to runners and self rooting, both of which are the best ground cover.

Of the ones I mentioned, ceanothus, conifers, cotoneaster would be slow or difficult from cuttings. Cotoneaster self-seeds though and is easy from seed. Most of the others produce runners or can be divided. However you will have to choose between cost of buying new plants and speed of covering the area. You will lose at least a season, probably more, if you do cuttings or grow from seed. If you want to grow from seed try here: http://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/

The ornamental strawberry and the persicaria go like mad. The geranium and osteospermum make large mats, though not as dividable as you might expect.

None of these plants are particularly expensive (except possibly the conifers, depending on what you get), you should be able to get smallish plants fairly cheaply, with your sort of area I would be inclined to put in lots of smaller plants, in loose groups, rather than a few big ones. You might be better in diy store plant departments rather than specialist nurseries, unless there is somewhere local that grows their own plants, in which case you might be able to do a deal for quantity.

monkeynuz

Trying to shave at the moment lol but I'll add another to the mix , anthemis punctata cupaniana spreads like buggery and you get your money's worth nice big daisy flowers.

Sonnenblumen

OP - you'd be better to contact a few Nurseries directly, enquire what is available ex-stock in P9 or 1.5L pots. It's a good time to buy bulk, not expensive and a much better way to buy these plants and get a better deal than any DIY store could possibly match.

Cotoneaster (Coral Beauty), Cistus (various colours) and Santolinas are good for becoming quickly established.

I'd avoid Conifers, you'll be grey before they grow.

tippgod

very sorry to the OP but can i just jump in on this trend. Was just about to post the same question. My slope is only 30sqm but has an old black plastic covering the area so runner style plants are not really an option. What would people recommend.

sorry again to the OP

finnbob123

hey I have recently opened a nursery here in cork, I don't have shrubs yet but though I would give some info.
firstly. someone said groundcover roses, you said you where new to gardening and with very maintenance well I recommend saying away from these they look great but need good soil and attract diseases such as black spot and require a lot of dead heading or else they look horrible.
I would recommend osteospermum but make sure its a hardy variety as most of them only survive to as low as -3or -5 degrees.
so I would recommend Cannington Roy(pink), Snow Pixie(white)and Tresco Purple(purple) these grow fast and look great I half grown thousands of these in the past for garden centres and they are very easy to grow and maintain.
or
if you would like something with less flowers and more foliage I would recommend any cotoneasters these are very fast growing and require little to no maintenance maybe a quick cut after a few years. they have great berries which attract lots of wildlife and birds. Also these would grow great in shaded areas and when the cover the ground they make it so shaded that there will be very little weeds come through it maybe on or two but that's all.
I based these on the fact you where looking for easy maintenance and quick growing, but there are lots of great options to choose from.

any more questions just ask and I will do my best.

pinky 06

Hi, persicaria is a lovely groundcover too. The Crowne Plaza in Dundalk have a bank covered in it at the entrance and it looks great. it has a really long flowering period too.