We have a hillside next to our house (slopes steeply from house down to road/alley). The soil is mostly clay and tends toward the rocky side.
Right now the hillside has trees and a LOT of Japanese honeysuckle. We want to rip out all of the honeysuckle but leave the trees. We noticed this spring that there is a lot of bare soil, and due to the proximity to the house, erosion is a concern.
The hillside, while partly shaded due to the trees, is south-facing. I am looking for suggestions regarding what to plant for ground cover to help combat erosion. We are located in southern Indiana.
Mom, Wintercreeper...euonymus fortunii.(purple wintercreeper).is just what your looking for...does very well on steep banks. Cotoneaster is especially for steep banks and erosion control. Lily of the Valley,Ajuga, periwinkle (vinca minor) does prefer shade)grund phlox, Japanese Spurge (pachysandra) and many others might fit the bill.
These groundcovers, most will flower and grow upwards of 6" - 15"...and most too are very invasive...that is, they will push out other plants.
Maybe you could think to plant more trees to stiffen the banks. Some perennials too that have spreading habit you might think about.
One note though, groundcovers will not spread well if they have to compete with weeds. You should free the hillside of weeds before planting a groundcover.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Hayland,
I'm thinking Wintercreeper may not be right, as if I understand correctly, it's a vine. The honeysuckle vines are already wreaking havoc in that area and choking young trees, so I think we want something that'll stay on the ground and not vine into the trees.
Planting more trees is a good idea. The trees are fairly dense already, though, I'm thinking we mostly need something for the bare spots between the trees. I'll look into some of the other species that you mentioned.
