Seeding a steep bank for ground cover

radar0976

Hi, I have a large steep bank (with quite poor soil in parts that is stony and sandy). I know it's quite a big ask but is there anything which anyone would recommend which could be sown as seed and would develop into good ground cover.

I've read about Sedum but also heard that planting it direct from seed outside could be tricky as the seeds are so small that they could be blown / washed away.

Would anyone have any suggestions about what could be easily planted from seed on this bank that would provide good ground cover ?

looksee

This has been discussed before but clover might be an option, you can get low growing ones that might be suitable.

Creeping thyme might be another option (you might have to grow it in small seedling pots/trays and plant it out).

Vinca major might do the job for you, it is vigorous green ground cover with pretty purple/pink flowers, very easy and spreads well. There is vinca minor as well which is a smaller plant with a slightly different growth type, my experience has been that it is not as vigorous as major.

There are prostrate shrubs also, low growing cotoneaster, ceanothus and prostrate conifers, ground cover roses.

rje66

There are a few ground cover shrubs that would work well here. Look up persicaria or Rubus tricolour or pachasandra terminalis

matt.v

There's some fantasic creeping cattoneasters for covering banks, Queen of Carpets comes to mind. I think it might be better and easier long term to buy a few shrubs and let them do their thing than trying to mind anything from seed.

rje66

Cotoneaster ir great for bees too

looksee

Do not plant rubus tricolour. It is a monstrous thug of a weed. My garden is infested with it and while we have cleared a lot of it, it continues to pop up all over the place.

wildwillow

The trouble with scattering seed is that it is mostly annuals which grow easily from seed. Most periennals need heat or at least careful management until they form small plants.

Vinca major, especially the variegated version is great and gives lovely year round cover. Vinca minor is easier to control in the long run.

Cotoneaster is also a good choice as long as you prune it sometimes to prevent very strong branches.

I am currently doing a smaller patch and going to use low pereinnals such as alchemilla mollis, campanula and hardy geraniums. I will put in minature bulbs, daffidols, tulips etc for spring colour. In the meantime I'll use small annual flowers where I can scatter seeds to give cover this summer and take my time planting the perennials. Limnanthes (poached egg plant) Myosotis (forget me not) evening scented stock, even nastursiums will give cover and often reseed themselves for years. I do expect to add some home made compost in autumn to keep some nutrients in the ground

Ajuga gives great cover and spreads quickly. Lots of gardeners would be delighted to give you plants when they are cutting these type of plants back and they only take a few moments to plant.

macraignil

The problem I could see developing on this sloped area if you are growing your ground cover from seed is that a lot of wild seeds will also sprout at the same time so you will be left with a lot more weed plants established before your ground cover plants have got established enough to suppress them. Lots of good suggestions for plants already. To keep the wild plants from continuing to seed themselves in the area you will need something strong growing to outgrow these weeds but then these strong growing plants may need some control as well. I have gone with a mixture of plants on a similar slope and included some plants that self seed and propagate themselves. Some that have not been mentioned so far and done well include Centranthus ruber(red valerian), Geum, birds foot trefoil, fox glove and Montbretia along with some shrubs that were easy to establish on the slope from cuttings by just sticking suitable pieces of branch in the ground in autumn and letting them root themselves like Buddleia.

Happy gardening.