Q: I have a ton of vinca growing under my trees and would like to start replacing it this fall with native groundcovers. Any suggestions of good options? –R.M., Hatfield

A: I am so glad you asked, R.M.! Vinca minor (Periwinkle) does fit the groundcover bill well in terms of quick spread that keeps weeds out; however, it is quite invasive. We often get overly comfortable with the same groundcovers year after year so I am excited you are investigating the fine native options. Even just 10 years ago we did not have the native plant focus we do now. Good ones exist for both shade and sun.

Sounds like you likely have a part shade to shade spot given you are focusing “under my trees.” One attractive choice for that type of location, where it often tends to be dry as well as shady, is Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense). Graceful, heart-shaped leaves — often 6 inches in diameter — last through the seasons, making it an especially good pairing with spring ephemerals. While this plant is not related to the well-known culinary ginger, its roots do have a similar spicy scent.

Another good option is Allegheny pachysandra (Pachysandra procumbens). This native cousin to the popular but invasive Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis) offers a bit more garden drama starting in spring with small, fragrant, short white spikes followed by fresh new, celery green shoots. Toward early fall, the leaves achieve a soft, silver-grey mottling for a fun new dimension. These plants clump and so spread more slowly than its familiar relative.

For sunny yellow blooms, Barren strawberry (Geum fragarioides), is an excellent ornamental, non-invasive, mat-forming native groundcover that spreads slowly. It thrives in a wide range of cultural conditions, from sun to shade and average to dry soils, providing multi-season interest. Bright mid-spring blossoms with glossy deep green foliage mimic traditional strawberry appearance. Those evergreen leaves turn red-purple-bronze in winter. This plant looks especially nice with tall ferns and is an attractive companion to shrubs with sparse lower leaves.

In case your vinca situation gets full sun, you can indulge yourself with the treasure of an actual native strawberry as groundcover, the wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana). Charming in size with little red runners, they offer wonderfully sweet berries as a reward for using them.

A last sun-loving groundcover suggestion is native Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera). It hosts shades of lavender-blue blooms now through summer’s end with dime-sized, delicate rounded leaves that last through most winters. The cultivar ‘Bruce’s White’ offers white flowers. It does spread rather quickly by stolon. The lovely foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia) makes a pretty companion as they bloom at the same time. The white Tiarella bloom looks magnificent against the purple phlox.

Good luck with your new plantings, R.M.! Thanks for asking a local Master Gardener.

Have a gardening dilemma? Please send questions, along with your name/initials and community, to the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association at AskAMasterGardener@wmmga.org. One question will be selected and answered per week. wmmga.org.

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