This new list of native groundcovers is just in time for autumn native plant sales. My thanks go to the 25 people who named their favorites in my August newsletter survey. (Join the newsletter here.) Respondents live in states from New Jersey to Maine.
The top mentions were green & gold (6), strawberries (4), violets (4), creeping phlox (3), and foamflower (3). See the chart below for more information on species and native range.
Many of these plants are native to large areas of the eastern US and beyond. Visit your favorite native plant database to learn whether it is native to your specific ecoregion. I hope this helps you search for the perfect groundcover to replace weedy areas or reduce lawns.
|
Mentions by survey respondents |
Botanical name (Alphabetical) |
Common name |
Native range |
|
1 |
Anemone canadensis |
Canada windflower |
Much of New England and most of the northern US |
|
1 |
Antennaria neglecta & A. plantaginifolia |
Field pussytoes, plantain-leaved pussytoes |
Northern states across US, including New England States |
|
1 |
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi |
Bearberry |
Most of New England, NY, NJ, PA, and west to CA |
|
2 |
Asarum canadense |
Wild ginger |
Most of New England and eastern states |
|
1 |
Carex albicans |
White-tinged sedge |
Most of New England, and all other eastern US states |
|
2 |
Carex plantaginea |
Seersucker sedge |
Inland New England states, and eastern US |
|
1 |
Chamaecrista fasciculata |
Partridge pea |
New England, eastern US, west to Rocky Mtns. |
|
6 |
Chrysogonum virginianum |
Green & gold |
Mid-Atlantic states |
|
1 |
Dennstaedtia punctilobula |
Hayscented fern |
New England and all eastern US north of Florida |
|
2 |
Erigeron pulchellus |
Robin’s plantain fleabane |
Most of New England, all of eastern US |
|
4 |
Fragaria virginiana & F. vesca |
Wild strawberry; Woodland strawberry |
New England, mid-Atlantic, and north central states |
|
1 |
Gaultheria procumbens |
Wintergreen |
All New England and eastern US |
|
1 |
Geranium maculatum |
Wild geranium |
Most of New England and eastern US |
|
2 |
Geum fragarioides |
Barren strawberry (not a true strawberry) |
Parts of New England and mid-Atlantic |
|
1 |
Iris cristata |
Crested iris |
New York and east coast, west to Oklahoma. Not native in New England. |
|
1 |
Maianthemum canadense |
Mayflower |
All of New England, most of eastern US |
|
1 |
Matteuccia struthiopteris |
Ostrich or fiddlehead fern |
All of New England, NY, PA, upper midwest |
|
1 |
Meehania cordata |
Creeping mint |
Mid-Atlantic states |
|
1 |
Mitchella repens |
Partridgeberry |
All New England, all of eastern US, south to Texas |
|
2 |
Pachysandra procumbens |
Allegheny spurge |
Limited range in PA & MO |
|
2 |
Packera aurea |
Golden groundsel, golden ragwort |
All of New England, all eastern states |
|
1 |
Phlox stolonifera |
Creeping phlox |
Parts of New England, NY, south to Georgia |
|
3 |
Phlox subulata |
Creeping phlox |
Mid-Atlantic states |
|
2 |
Polystichum acrosticroides |
Christmas fern |
All of New England, all eastern US states |
|
1 |
Sedum ternatum |
Woodland sedum |
Western New England, mid-Atlantic, central states north of Florida |
|
3 |
Tiarella cordifolia |
Foamflower |
All of New England except coastal sandplains, eastern US, Michigan |
|
1 |
Vaccinium angustifolium |
Low bush blueberry |
All New England, mid-Atlantic, upper Midwest |
|
4 |
Viola soraria, and other violet species |
Violets, many species |
There are violet species native almost anywhere in the eastern US |