Checklist of plants suitable for ground cover
This page list more that 250 plants which can be used for ground cover, we have divided this up into sub-pages for easier browsing. A more readable discussion can be found in the leaflet Ground Cover Plants.
All these files uses tables. If you can't use tables or want to import the informion into a database then you may find the Plain Text file of use. The old version of this page where all the plants are listed in one very long page is also avaliable, this might be useful for searching.
Edible Trees and Shrubs Hardy in temperate zones.
Checklist of plants suitable for hedging and windbreaks.
Checklist of Trees and Shrubs for Shelterbelts.
KEY.
Habit: A = Annual. B = Bamboo. Bi = Biennial. Cl - Climber. F = Fern. Sh = Shrub. T = Tree. P = Perennial.
Deciduous/Evergreen: D = Deciduous. E = Evergreen.
Hardiness zone: 1 = Succeeds in the Arctic zone. 10 = Does not tolerate frost. Most of Britain is in zone 7, the milder areas are zone 8 (though some zone 9 plants can be there), some upland and northern areas are 6 or lower.
Soil: L = Light. M = Medium. H = Heavy.
Shade: F = Succeeds in full shade. S = Succeeds in semi-shade. N = Succeeds in full sun (or no shade).
Moisture: D = Succeeds in dry soils. M = Succeeds in moist soils (the average soil moisture level). We = Succeeds in wet soils. Wa = Succeeds in water.
pH: A = Succeeds in acid soils. N = Succeeds in neutral soils. B = Succeeds in basic (alkaline soils).
Growth rate: S = Slow. M = Medium. F = Fast.
When using this list it is important to remember that it can only contain a small portion of the information we hold on each plant. You are strongly advised to seek more information on any plant before making use of it in the manner suggested. This is especially important with any of the comments on edibility.