Ground covers are generally very easy to care for. However, if they are to serve a specific purpose beyond just filling areas, then some care is required. We will show you what is important when it comes to ivy, periwinkle and co.
Ground covers are very frugal
When to care for ground covers
Ground covers are definitely something for the lazy - they willingly green and beautify areas that cannot or do not want to be cared for much. For example, border strips along the house entrance or along paths and in the front yard. The fast-growing, robust plant carpets are also ideal for planting on graves that are not visited very often.
But if you want to use a ground cover in a more targeted way in the garden, you have to take care of it from time to time. This is especially true for ornamental ground cover in structured beds, for very vigorous varieties that border other beds and even for ground cover that is only intended to prevent weeds.
General care requirements for ground covers are as follows:
- Cut back to limit the area
- Compaction for weed inhibition
- possibly fertilization
The cut care
Pruning is the most important care measure for ground covers. In view of the generally insensitive and rather assertive nature of the ground cover, they hardly need any "nursing" help in the form of special watering or fertilization. If you offer it a location and soil suitable for the variety, it will usually take care of itself - and rather in excess.
It is therefore advisable to regularly keep it under control when it spreads over a large area. In order to prevent uncontrolled proliferation, you should cut off the edges of the surface again and again and also prune the surface, especially in the case of runner-forming and very vigorous groundcover such as ivy, periwinkle or Günsel.
compression
If you use a ground cover specifically to avoid weeding an area, you should encourage dense growth. This is also done through regular pruning - by repeatedly shortening the outer shoots, you get the plant to keep growing at the base rather than further out. This thickens the plant carpet and improves weed inhibition.
fertilization
Of course, compaction also makes sense for ornamental ground cover, which you cultivate as an accurate cushion in the bed. It compresses the ground cover cushions and just makes them look neater. But if you prune it very often, you should give it some fertilizer at the same time - but only in moderation.