What can I grow/use as ground cover on bone dry areas at the base of trees?

[LadyBiscuit]

I have an enormous pear tree and a former waterfall feature thing which has spirea growing in it underplanted with ivy. The grass won't grow in either area so they are just bare patches of earth (some weeds grow but even they struggle.

Is there anything that will do well in those tough conditions? Or can I cover the ground with something else. I don't really want to put some edging around the area and fill it with bark chippings because I think it will look a bit twee but I'm at a loss as to what else to do.

Any ideas anyone?

[KristinaM]

here

don't even bother trying grass, its very fussy

can you improve the soil in the area?

[isthatporridgeinyourzone]

For dry shade try;

Epimediums
Pachysandra terminalis
Euphorbia robbiae
Geranium phaeum and macrorrhizum
Teucrinium scorodonia

[LadyBiscuit]

I can improve the soil (I garden on horrendously heavy clay but I have spent years digging manure into it and it's not too bad in the beds now) but it's not just the soil, it's the fact that it is in a total rain shadow so will only get run off. The ground under the fountain thing (it's like a rockery really) won't even get run off really. I shall have to water I guess

Thanks for those suggestions - I might give lamium and pachysandra a go. Even the hedera isn't able to thrive there so not holding out much hope

[GrendelsMum]

I agree with porridge! But a few extra suggestions

Vinca?
Dryopterix felis mas? (sp?)
Euphorbia cyparissus ?

How about starting the plants off out of the rain shadow, and letting them spread into the area under the pear tree?

But I always think that bare soil, in obviously good condition, can look quite attractive under a large tree - the woodland look.

[Pannacotta]

Another option is to plant a big group of bulbs, autumn flowering cyclamen are tolerant of shade under trees and you coull add bark over the bare soil until they grow, so it doesnt look too bare, will also act as a mulch.
If you added Snowdrops a little distance away from the tree they will spread to form drifts within a few years (they prefer it not too dry so not ideal for planting directly under the trees).
Soem good info here
apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=430

Can you raise the canopy of the tree to let in more light?

[MrsDickens]

I agree with Pannacotta - we've got cyclamen under an apple tree that tends to be in a deep/dry shade, and they're wonderful - look lovely when in flower, and the leaves are decorative when not. The clump spreads well, too.

I'd steer clear of vinca, personally. We've got this somewhere else (in a very, very dry position) and it's a thug - needs serious curbing on a regular basis.

Ajuga reptans is good, too, if also a bit of a spreader. Very attractive at this time of year when it puts up its spikes of blue flowers.

[glacierchick]

I was also going to suggest spring bulbs, snowdrops, winter aconites, crocus, wood anemones and autumn flowering cyclamen, we managed to get all to grow in a similar sounding site.

I also add the old primulas and bulbs I've had in pots in Spring to the same area, though they don't always survive, it's an added bonus when they do.

I think I'd offer three tips though (based on our experience in our own garden, sorry if it's all a bit obvious).

1. Prepare the ground in advance, spreading some garden compost and leaf mould in the autumn worked wonders for our patch, the winter broke down the large clumps and the worms and things drew it deeper in to the ground, so we didn't even need to do that much digging (handy as tree roots don't generally welcome disturbance). I finished off with a chipped bark mulch (no edging though!) which gradually broke down, just to make it look neater at first.

1. Try to plant actual plants "in the green" - now is about the right time of year for this. They seem to establish better and we had much better results than with bulbs, although plants are of course more expensive.

1. You may well need to keep watering at least through the first year, but I make up big bags of leaf mould every year (fill an old compost bag full of dead leaves, water once and forget about it for a year) and spread that around every autumn. Gradually the water retaining properties of the ground improve.

Hope this helps, sounds like you have a lovely garden!

[paisleyleaf]

comfrey?

[LadyBiscuit]

Thanks everyone - some great ideas here. I like the idea of the bulb clumps best because if they do stray into the grass, it'd be quite nice whereas I've just managed to clear an infestation of wild strawberries which are very pretty but get everywhere. I still have a huge clump of snowdrops which I was planning on dividing up anyway so will put those in and I think the cyclamen (are the autumn flowering ones called colchicum? I always want to call them coelacanth ) will be lovely too. My only challenge will be my rampant squirrel population - I cannot keep tulips or crocuses here so it remains to be seen if crocuses are tasty too

My garden is looking very pretty at the moment glacierchick (and tips are always a good reminder) - the pear tree blossom is blowing about everywhere