Nature excels at growing fast ground cover plants. In any forest, prairie, or dry landscape, you'll find thriving colonies just below your feet, creating stunning displays when grouped together.
In gardens, ground cover plants serve as practical solutions for weed control and soil erosion. However, they also enhance your garden's charm, adding a soft, natural touch, even with plants like Soleirolia soleirolii.
Utilizing low-growing and fast-growing plants creates a visually appealing tapestry of colors and textures at varying heights. Whether you choose contrasting colors or stick to a single hue, options like white flowering, silver-leaved lamium beneath magnolias or Cornus kousa can create an elegant effect.
12 Fast-Growing Ground Cover Plants for Instant Greenery
Many fast-growing ground cover plants are resilient and require minimal care. Regular cutting back, splitting, or dividing them may be necessary if they become too dense or encroach unwanted areas.
The advantages of ground cover plants are numerous, with evergreen foliage being the pinnacle for year-round appeal. Here's a curated selection of the quickest spreading ground cover plants for immediate coverage.
1. Erigeron karvinskianus (Mexican Daisy)
Mexican fleabane thrives in naturalistic planting schemes
- Ideal for: Rocky, dry locations
- Height: 2ft
- Spread: 5ft
- Hardiness: USDA 6-9
This Mexican fleabane spreads in fluffy mounds, easily accessing crevices among rocks, walls, or garden paths. It flourishes in summer, enduring dry conditions while producing an abundance of tiny daisy blooms from early summer to late fall.
Great for filling gaps and softening hard landscaping, it can spread aggressively and may become invasive. While foliage dies back in harsh winters, this hardy plant reliably returns.
2. Lamium maculatum
- Ideal for: Dry, shaded corners, under shrubs and trees
- Height: 12in
- Spread: 12in
- Hardiness: USDA 3-8
This variegated dead nettle is an attractive ground cover with small white or purple summer flowers. It spreads rapidly through root runners, making it suitable for larger areas needing coverage. However, it can become invasive in smaller gardens.
Pair it with other shade-loving plants like ferns for contrast. It's low-maintenance and drought-resistant. Cutting back can encourage a second bloom, and in milder climates, it retains foliage throughout winter.
Shop Lamium maculatum plants in various colors at Nature Hills.
3. Phlox subulata (Creeping Phlox)
Creeping phlox spreads rapidly, creating a floral carpet
- Ideal for: Slopes and rock gardens
- Height: 4in
- Spread: 16in
- Hardiness: USDA 3-9
This North American perennial, also known as moss phlox, blankets sunny areas with spring flowers. Planted in masses, it's a fast-growing, evergreen mat that's as tough as it is beautiful. With excellent drought resistance and deer deterrence, it's perfect for preventing soil erosion.
Numerous cultivars are available, featuring colors from white to purple and magenta. The vibrant pink of Phlox subulata 'McDaniels Cushion' has received an RHS Award of Garden Merit, while the 'Emerald Blue' variety from Fast Growing Trees boasts lovely purple flowers.
4. Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans)
Ajuga reptans 'Catlin's Giant'
- Ideal for: Light shade
- Height: 6in
- Spread: 18in
- Hardiness: USDA 4-10
This evergreen creeping perennial thrives in shadier spots, featuring dark, textured foliage that forms a beautiful mat. With upright, bright purple flowers in late spring and early summer, it's hardy and quick to spread. It pairs excellently with brighter, shade-tolerant plants like Carex elata 'Aurea'.
Variations include larger-leaved options like 'Black Scallop' (available at Nature Hills) and 'Catlin's Giant' (also from Nature Hills).
5. Geraniums
Geranium sanguineum is a resilient, low-maintenance ground cover
- Ideal for: Front of sunny borders
- Height: 18in
- Spread: 24in
- Hardiness: USDA 4-8
Numerous hardy geranium varieties can add color and interest to your yard. Smaller-leaved G. sanguineum is perfect for front borders, showcasing deeply cut leaves topped with small flowers in early summer. Colors range from pale pink to white, and cutting back encourages a second bloom.
These low-growing plants are drought-tolerant once established and attract pollinators.
Check out Geranium 'Rozanne' from Fast Growing Trees, or consider the charming hot pink blooms of Geranium sanguineum 'Max Frei' from Nature Hills.
6. Sweet Woodruff (Gallium odoratum)
- Ideal for: Shady, woodland-style planting
- Height: 12in
- Spread: 12in
- Hardiness: USDA 4-9
This lovely woodland plant thrives in semi-shade, and Gallium odoratum (available from Nature Hills) will quickly spread, producing leafy clumps and white flowers from late spring to early summer.
Combine it with other woodland plants to achieve a naturalistic arrangement beneath trees and shrubs, allowing it ample room to spread. It adapts well to various soil types except for excessively dry ones.
7. Rockcress (aubretia)
Aubretia easily spreads over ground and walls
- Ideal for: Hot sunny, rocky locations
- Height: 6in
- Spread: 12in
- Hardiness: USDA 6-8
Rockcress thrives in sunny spots, spreading effortlessly to create a vibrant carpet of purple to reddish-pink flowers in early summer. It cascades beautifully over walls, making it suitable for sunny borders and paths, requiring minimal care as long as it has dry soil and full sun. Watch for snails and slugs in spring, as they may munch on the fresh growth.
8. Herbaceous Clematis
Clematis tubulosa 'Cassandra'
- Ideal for: Mixed flower borders
- Height: 30in
- Spread: 20in
- Hardiness: USDA 4-9
Typically known for climbing, herbaceous clematis varieties are scramblers rather than climbers and can spread through other plants. They work well in mixed borders, providing a taller, informal ground cover beneath shrubs and perennials.
Consider the compact Clematis heracleifolia with its petite blue flowers or the aromatic C.tubulosa 'Cassandra' for your garden.
9. Sedum
Sedum plants are perfect for living roofs
- Ideal for: Dry areas, rooftops
- Height: 6-8in
- Spread: 12in
- Hardiness: USDA 4-9
Ideal for green roofs and dry gravel gardens, sedum mats suppress weeds while attracting wildlife. These resilient, fleshy-leaved plants withstand harsh conditions and display beautiful color variations and intricate patterns. Their tiny flowers are also excellent for summer pollinators.
With many types available, from the silvery-blue S. cauticola to the golden succulent 'Rubrotinctum', check for suitability in your US hardiness zone.
Explore a wide selection of sedum plants at Nature Hills.
10. Thymus serpyllum (Creeping Thyme)
Use creeping thyme to soften hard landscaping
- Ideal for: Patios, paving, rockeries, and walls
- Height: 2in
- Spread: 12in
- Hardiness: USDA 4-9
Creeping thyme is a delightful ground cover that thrives around pathways and patios, filling gaps beautifully. When stepped on, it releases a lovely fragrance. This drought-tolerant plant spreads quickly and attracts bees with its nectar-rich blooms.
Choose from various varieties, including variegated, golden, and glossy-leafed types that look stunning in a mixed pattern. Select Seeds suggests 'Magic Carpet' as a resilient option for well-drained paths, rock gardens, and more.
11. Ceratostigma (Blue Plumbago)
Blue plumbago provides color in late summer and fall
- Ideal for: Late summer and fall blooms
- Height: 10in
- Spread: 24in
- Hardiness: USDA 5-9
This plant is perfect for seasonal transitions, with blue flowers appearing as summer fades and followed by vibrant foliage in fall. A fast-spreading shrub suitable for dry, sunny areas, it spills over borders for a soft, casual appearance.
Blue plumbago attracts butterflies, allowing you to enjoy their presence around its nectar-rich blooms. It tolerates partial shade, making it suitable for planting near trees and shrubs.
Blue plumbago is available at Nature Hills.
12. Japanese Pachysandra
- Ideal for: Shade and dry conditions
- Height: 6in
- Spread: 12in
- Hardiness: USDA 4-9
Japanese Pachysandra is a fast-growing, low-maintenance plant that does well in dry shade. It's a hardy evergreen, boasting glossy green leaves and tiny white flowers in spring. Ideal for slopes and beneath trees, it forms a lush carpet where other plants struggle.
While it inhibits weed growth, its rapid spread may require management. It propagates through underground runners and can be invasive in some areas, so consider this before planting.
FAQs
What's the best fast-spreading ground-cover plant for shade?
Vinca, or periwinkle, is a versatile, fast-growing evergreen with glossy leaves and bright blue flowers from late spring to fall. It adapts well to both sun and shade, thriving in fertile, moist woodland soils but also tolerating dry conditions and hardiness zones 4-9. In colder areas, it may die back in winter but re-emerges in spring. Use it to plant under trees and shrubs. Wild ginger (Asarum canadense), another shade-tolerant native, spreads readily with soft, heart-shaped leaves.
These fast-growing ground cover plants can effectively carpet bare soil beneath trees and shrubs or fill gaps in front of borders. Plant them alongside paths and patios to create flowing foliage and flowers that soften hard landscaping. Including thymes, aubretia, or Mexican daisies among paving helps prevent unwanted volunteer plants from thriving.
