How to Choose a Ground Cover for Rockeries

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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A rockery provides the perfect place to plant a ground cover for an overall effect of flowers and foliage. Flowering plants such as rockcress add spring color, and woody ground covers such as Cotoneaster dammeri provide winter interest.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Step1
Choose the right plants for sun or shade. Remember that "full sun" means 6 hours of sun a day.
Step2
Select a combination of woody and herbaceous plants so there will be something there through the winter.
Step3
Pick plants that prefer the well-drained soil pockets of a rockery - one good example is Rubus pentalobus.
Step4
Achieve an alpine look by choosing cushion-forming plants, such as thrift, that hug the rocks.
Step5
Decide how many plants you'll need to get by using rocks to represent the plants. Place them at intervals according to how wide the plants grow, then count up the rocks.

Tips & Warnings

  • Choose plants appropriate for your USDA plant hardiness zone (see Related Sites).

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eHow Article:  How to Choose a Ground Cover for Rockeries

eHow Home & Garden Editor

eHow Home & Garden Editor

Category: Home & Garden

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