The best ground cover plants for Wisconsin include English ivy, candytuft, and sweet woodruff. They grow where grass won’t and add visual interest to Wisconsin yards.
Drawing from my expertise as a landscape designer, I’ve included helpful design application tips for each ground cover plant. So, you’ll not only learn about the plants but also where and how to add them to your garden. After all, isn’t that what we aim for in the end? Let’s get started.
Ground cover plants
Ground cover plants are perennials that spread by low-growing trailing stems. They can be used as a turfgrass alternative in challenging landscape situations, such as steep hills you don’t want to mow or densely shaded areas. Once they start growing, they can help reduce weed growth, prevent soil erosion, and provide a home for pollinators.
English ivy
English ivy (Hedera helix) is an evergreen perennial vine that doesn’t die in the winter, maintains dark green leaves, and has a rapid growth rate. Height-wise, it reaches 6 to 8 inches and will keep spreading if not maintained. This versatile ground cover adapts to full sun, partial shade, and dense shade but prefers well-drained, moist soil.
Design application: As a landscape designer, I often used English ivy in my landscape designs. It works well under the canopy of big trees, where regular grass has trouble growing because of the dense shade. To keep it contained, I designed it in a circular mass, surrounded by cobblestone edging.
This approach resolved the issue of unsightly bare soil and exposed roots for homeowners once the ground cover was established. Moreover, the striking green color of the ivy produces a visually captivating contrast against the lighter turfgrass.
Candytuft
Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens), is a low-growing semi-evergreen perennial ground cover with beautiful clusters of white flowers that bloom in late spring to early summer. It has a moderate growth rate with a height of 8 to 12 inches and a spread of 18 to 24 inches.
Candytuft grows best and flowers more in full sun. It prefers well-drained to dry soil and doesn’t like wet feet (wet soil). As a semi-evergreen woody perennial, it will survive winter but may lose some or all of its leaves.
Design application: Candytuft is best used to flank walkways and in border plantings. You can also think of it as a softener for hardscaping elements in your yard. For example, plant it where it can cascade over a rock wall or raised garden bed. Try it out in different garden settings just for fun, including a pollinator garden, rock garden, or cottage garden.
Sweet woodruff
Sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum) loves to sprawl along the ground and climb over other plants. It grows 3 to 6 inches high and sprawls 8 to 12 inches wide. The showy white flowers are also edible and have a sweet nutty vanilla flavor. Its lance-shaped dark green leaves are arranged in whorls (star-shaped formation of 6 to 8 leaves that each originate at a single point on a square stem).
This lovely ground cover thrives in partial shade and dense shade. Moist, well-drained soil is where its roots are happiest. Beware of dry shade; sweet woodruff will not like it. It will die back to the ground in winter and reappear in the spring.
Design application: Incorporate sweet woodruff as an edging plant in herb gardens and naturalized areas, like the edge of a woodland. While most plants can’t tolerate being near black walnut trees, sweet woodruff is an exception.
Creeping phlox
Creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) is a flowering ground cover that grows 2 to 6 inches high and 12 to 24 inches wide. Its distinguishing characteristics are reddish stems that hug the ground, oval leaves, and 6-inch pinwheel-like purple blooms.
Creeping phlox thrives in dense shade to partial shade and prefers well-drained, moist soil. It will die back in the winter and reappear in the spring.
Design application: It is best used in rock gardens and on hillsides that have erosion issues. Plant it in groups to create a visual mass of color. It also looks great cascading over the edge of dry-laid stone garden walls.
Pachysandra
Pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis) is an upright evergreen with broad leaves and small white flowers that bloom in late spring. This ground cover loves all the shades — dense, dappled, and partial shade — and stays small, growing only 6 to 8 inches high and 12 to 18 inches wide. It prefers well-drained, moist soil and has a slow growth rate.
My Tip: Pachysandra leaves may turn yellow if planted in full sun or the soil lacks nutrients. I had a customer with pachysandra growing in two areas — one in full sun and the other in dense shade. The one in full sun had yellow leaves, while the shaded area remained green.
Design application: Pachysandra looks best when planted in large groups. This ground cover looks great in circular rings under large trees with canopies. It also works to fill in shady areas as a foreground plant.
Bugleweed
Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) is a ground cover plant featuring lovely violet-blue flowers shaped like bugles that grow in spikes. It forms a dense mat that reaches a height of 3 to 8 inches and can spread 8 to 24 inches wide. This plant thrives in partial to dense shade and favors moist, well-drained soil.
Bugleweed is highly attractive to pollinators and blooms in the spring. However, if not properly maintained, it can encroach into your lawn.
Design application: Bugleweed can fill empty spaces between plants and hugs the ground, which makes it excellent for preventing soil erosion. If used as an edging plant, it looks great flanking a walkway. Bugleweed pairs well with hostas.
Hosta
Hostas (Hosta sp.) are a diverse group of herbaceous perennials. The miniature stoloniferous varieties, which make ideal groundcovers, range from 2 to 6 inches in height and 12 to 24 inches in width. The leaf and flower features vary, depending on the variety: Some have larger blue leaves, while others have smaller variegated leaves, with a mix of white and green.
Hostas generally prefer shady or partially shady conditions and thrive in well-drained, moist soil. They typically have a slow to moderate rate of growth. Regardless of the variety, all hostas form clumps, but do not spread. During winter, they die to the ground and reappear in the spring.
Look for these miniature cultivars:
- ‘Blue Mouse Ears’
- ‘Lemon-Lime’
- ‘Thumb Nail’
Design application: Hostas tend to look good planted in groups. They look nice at the edge of woods or in a shady section of your garden. Ferns are a nice companion plant if in a woodland setting. They also look good on the stone edge of a pond.
Hostas also look amazing with ornamental grasses. If you’d like to know more about ornamental grasses, check out our article: “The Best Ornamental Grasses for Wisconsin.”
Stonecrop
Stonecrop (Sedum sp.) comprises over 300 deciduous and evergreen succulent species, many of which are used as ground cover. These plants have a slow growth rate, and the cultivars below stay small, reaching a height of 1 to 3 inches and spreading 8 to 18 inches. They thrive in well-drained, dry soil and full sun and typically produce blooms in mid to late summer.
Look for these cultivars:
- ‘Aureum’
- ‘Bailey’s Gold’
- ‘Bertram Anderson’
- ‘Coral Carpet’
- ‘Green Ice’
- ‘Murale’
Design application: Stonecrop varieties look amazing in groups in perennial borders. If you are planning a pollinator garden, butterflies love stonecrop varieties. Since it is drought and heat-tolerant, try using it in a rock garden. Additionally, they are winter hardy.
Note: Tall stonecrop plants don’t spread; they keep to themselves. However, spreading stonecrop will creep if not maintained.
Lamb’s ear
I absolutely love Lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina); it’s one of my favorite plants. I can’t resist running my fingers along its fuzzy, soft, silver leaves. Even though I’ve never touched a lamb’s ear, feeling this plant makes me imagine I’m petting one. It grows at a moderate pace to about 6 to 8 inches in height and 18 to 24 inches wide.
This low-spreading ground cover grows in a dense clump. Lamb’s ear thrives in full sun but can also tolerate partial sun and should be planted in well-drained soil.
Design application: Due to its drought tolerance, rock gardens are the perfect spot for lamb’s ear. But don’t think you’re limited to rock gardens. Its fuzzy, silvery leaves provide a great contrast to other plants. I love it next to dark purple perennials like sage or annuals like dark purple petunias. It will die back in Wisconsin’s winters.
Cranesbill
Cranesbill (Geranium sp.) is an overarching term encompassing the many geranium cultivars and species. These plants include many growth habits, varying heights, and differing preferences for sun and shade. Some even prefer a woodland setting (like the native Geranium maculatum).
Depending on the specific cultivar, its shape can vary from large bushy mounds to a more trailing growth habit. Bloom colors can range from blue and purple to red, pink, or white. Look for the flowers to emerge from late spring to summer. Come winter, it will go dormant.
Look for these recommended cultivars:
- ‘Biokovo’
- ‘Ballerina’
- ‘Claridge Druce’
- ‘Karmina’
- ‘Nanum’
- ‘Striatum’
Design application: Pollinators love cranesbill, so make a pollinator garden. This plant is ideal for mass/group plantings. Placing it at the edge of the woods, where sunlight peeks through the trees, can introduce a burst of color, especially if planted in front of smaller deciduous trees such as dogwoods and Eastern redbuds.
More lawn care and landscaping resources for Wisconsin
Basic lawn care:
- The Best Time to Dethatch Your Lawn in Wisconsin
- When to Apply Weed and Feed in Wisconsin
- The Best Time to Aerate Your Lawn in Wisconsin
- The Best Time to Plant Grass Seed in Wisconsin
- When Does Grass Stop Growing in Wisconsin?
- Month-to-Month Wisconsin Lawn Care Calendar
- The Best Grass Seed for Wisconsin Lawns
Clover lawns:
Weed control and pests:
- When to Apply Crabgrass Preventer in Wisconsin
- When to Apply Grub Control in Wisconsin
- The Most Common Weeds in Wisconsin
- The Best Weed and Feed for Wisconsin Lawns
Call in the Pros
Ground cover plants can take your landscaping to the next level. However, knowing which ones to choose for your Wisconsin yard can be intimidating. Why not let Lawn Love’s gardening pros help you decide? Let the experts step in, eliminate your stress, and adorn your lawn with low-maintenance, functional ground covers to enjoy.
Main Image Credit: Stefan.lefnaer | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0
