Content
- Lawn replacement from hardy ground cover and upholstery
- Hardy plants for lawn replacement
- Conditionally hardy perennials
- The best planting time for hardy groundcover
- Is winter protection advisable?
- Tips & Tricks
Lawn replacement from hardy ground cover and upholstery
Gardeners who want to plant a lawn substitute as an alternative to a real lawn, have a lot to consider when choosing plants. Above all, the low perennials should be hardy, so not every year a new lawn replacement must be planted.
Hardy plants for lawn replacement
Conditionally hardy perennials
If you are not sure whether the upholstery you have selected is hardy, get advice in the garden trade. It's better to make the right choice right away so you do not have to plant a new lawn replacement every year.
The best planting time for hardy groundcover
Also, plants that are usually hardy, can withstand low temperatures only when they have had enough time to grow properly.
The best planting time is therefore the late summer. At this time weeds germinate much slower, so that the plants have room to spread. By winter, enough roots have formed.
The soil should be well prepared before planting. Carefully pull out root weeds such as greed, couch grass and field horsetail and also remove as many roots as possible. Then you have less work with the replacement lawn next spring. If the pads have grown dense, even the stubborn root weeds no longer penetrate the replacement turf.
Is winter protection advisable?
With really hardy perennials a winter protection is unnecessary. It would even be harmful, because the moisture accumulates under a dense cover and makes the lawn rotten. Only with fresh plantings can a light winter protection be meaningful, in order to protect the young plants against excessive frost.
Conditionally hardy plants should be placed from the outset only in a sheltered place, where the temperatures do not decrease so much.
If winter protection is unavoidable, branches of twigs or pine branches are recommended. A blanket of these branches is breathable. The plants get enough air underneath and the moisture can not accumulate so much.
Tips & Tricks
In very shady places, ivy can be planted as a lawn substitute. The creeping plant needs no sun and spreads quickly over the garden floor. Ivy is also good for very cold winters.