Taking cover with versatile ground cover plants

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Contributor

Ground cover plants have irreplaceable functions in a landscape design -- from as simple as providing thick soil covering, preventing erosion to serving as an interesting guide to the entrance. With proper planning and planting, all of the above are possible to achieve.

These plants, with decorative foliage shapes as well as colorful flowers, can deliver artistic nuances while at the same time providing interesting textures and a desirable atmosphere to the landscape.

The key to success in planting ground cover, according to a designer with Tata Eksotik Landscape, is by knowing the character of the plants and choosing the ones suitable for the site.

Budi Damarstuti said that ground cover plants can range from several centimeters high, like grass, to around 50 centimeters high, spreading or clumping, with flowers or decorative foliage.

"In general, plants classified as ground cover plants provide (dense) soil covering. There are some plants which are also available in dwarf forms, like ixora, and these dwarf forms are also classified as ground cover," explained Tuti.

Ground cover plants help smoothen the overall shape of plants, grown in beds according to height, "and apart from giving an attractive looking base, these plants also help prevent soil erosion".

They can also be planted to reduce a solid appearance of driveways, steps and pathways in the garden. At the same time, the plants can lead the way to the entrance.

Tuti said that before planting ground cover plants, it is important to choose those plants with shapes and height that fit the landscape design.

As a general rule, flowering ground cover plants -- like ixora, portulaca, widelia and lantana -- require direct sunlight.

In a partly shady site, it is advised to grow begonia, fern, and plants with wide foliage, such as maranta leuconevra and zephyranthes.

The plants can be bought from nurseries or plants vendors who sell them in poly bags. The best way to start is by carefully choosing healthy plants that have no signs of disease or pest infestation, like scorched leaves, holes in the leaves or powdery white dust.

As with planting other plants, it is important to prepare the garden soil first to allow a favorable living environment. The preparation can be done by raking up the soil where the ground cover plants will be grown.

Manure or compost is then added to the soil to ensure enough nutrients for the plant's root. However, while compost-mixed soil is ready for planting, one has to leave the soil unplanted for about three weeks when using manure.

Knowing the plant's growth rate will also help in determining how many plants are needed to cover a site as well as the cost. Fast growing or sprawling ground covers can be planted further apart than the clumping or slow growing ones.

Once the soil is ready, carefully remove the plants from the poly bags and plant each of them in the designated area -- working outward to the edge of the bed.

Cover the root with a little soil and gently press the base of the plants. Since ground cover plants have shallow roots, one has to make sure the plants are properly entrenched ub the soil.

The last step is watering the plants to ensure that the solid around the root becomes firm.

"If you don't secure the plants' root properly, the plants can easily tumble or they won't be able to get nutrient from the soil. When this happens, the plants would not grow optimally or even die," said Tuti, adding that newly planted plants requires around two months to become properly established.

Maintenance of a ground cover plant is relatively easy. Apart from watering twice a day, additional compost or fertilizer in the form of granules can be given every three months.

According to Tuti, newly planted ground cover needs high nitrogen fertilizer while flowering ones need the one high in phosphor and established plants need high potassium to support root growth.

"After giving granule fertilizer, you need to water the plants generously so the fertilizer can dissolve, enabling it to penetrate into the soil," she said.

Light pruning, Tuti said, can be done to neaten the shape of some ground cover plants and control their growth. Annual plants -- like myana and widelia -- will lose their charm after a year of two, so remove them and plant new ones.

At times, a space in the garden can be a landscape challenge due to an unsuitable growing environment for plants -- such as a piece of confined, shady land where even grass cannot grow. For this kind of site, loose natural stones are a good alternative for ground cover since they are also available in different sizes and colors.

In the process, the site is first divided into sections or left the way it is. Then, line the site or each section with certain materials before spreading loose stones, of one type or several different ones.

"This kind of ground cover requires virtually no maintenance," Tuti said.