I’m working on expanding a flower bed that is currently all mulch between the flowers/plants. If I was to replace most of the mulch with a ground-cover plant, would that impact any other flowers/plants from coming up as they grow?
I like the look of a flowering ground-cover over mulch but don’t want it stifling any other growth.
We’ve done white clover in our 3 beds, between all the flowers, for the last 2 seasons. We do, still, apply a layer of mulch at first frost but that’s because we’re Zone 4b. I love my clover, I think it fills the empty spaces really well, it’s a nitrogen fixer, so I feel like it’s helping the other flowers, and as long as the other plants are already established, the clover hasn’t snuffed out the “good” plants, just the “weedy” growth. The only 2 things to keep in mind are (1) I found if I plant small/really young plants while the clover is established, the clover will need to be plucked until the new flower has good growth. And (2) the clover itself can get a little wild, but again, we bring it right down and mulch in the winter. Good luck!
Thanks for the response! I’ve got a full clover/grass lawn so was thinking of another type (haven’t done a ton of research into it yet, figured first step was asking if it was even a good idea!) Seems like the consensus is that it aught to be okay, I just need to be smart about it and pay attention.
Are you asking if the ground cover will prevent seeds from other plants from germinating? Yes, definitely.
Or are you asking if the ground cover will prevent the other plants from growing normally? No, probably not.
Just be sure that your ground cover and your other plants want similar amounts of light and water and it should be fine.
I was asking moreso to the first point. It sounds like if I want ground-cover that it should be in its own segregated section as opposed to the same areas as bulbs. Thank you for the reply!
Bulbs will come up just fine through a ground cover. Maybe test both ways for a season and see which you and the plants prefer?