Suggestions

[Will]

I've been thinking, but have not yet found the right plant. I'm looking for a low groundcover, around 6" max height. It has to have color, preferably blue or blue-green, and thrive in acidic and wet soil, in a mostly shade situation. Other colors would be manageable, but I'm preferring a perennial plant with foliage color instead of blooms, evergreen in zone 7 would be a definite plus.

Oh, yeah, fine texture would be great. Any ideas, anyone? I'm feeling that I may be asking too much. This is a bog runoff area, so the plant will have wet feet and peat filtered water. Ferns should do well here, I have many in the area, but they all get far too tall. Any help is better than where I'm at now. Thanks in advance.

[Kntry]

Ajuga?

[Will]

Ajuga would be great, but it can't handle the constant moisture. Not a plant that will survive with "wet feet". That was one of my 1st thoughts, though.

May have to scout the local creeks. I've heard of a 6" itea variant, but can't seem to find it.

[Will]

I'm thinking maybe lungwort longifolia (pulmonaria longifolia) if I can find a source. Maybe.

[Meganne]

blue daze?
no, maybe bog is to wet for it....

[stroppy]

hostas ?

[Kntry]

What about variegated English Ivy? That loves water and shade.

[Will]

Blue daze would be great, but the wet acid soil wouldn't support it well, the shade would cut flowering, and the plant's an annual here. Great looking and growing plant, just not the right one for the area.

Hosta should thrive there, but grow too tall.

English ivy doesn't like wet feet, in my experience.

But, thanks for those suggestions. I'm trying to find lungwort locally, but I've never seen it around here.

[stroppy]

Periwinkle ?.... had ivy growing into my pond once and it rooted in there

[koikeepr]

Irish Moss? Nice electric green.

I'm pretty sure there are miniature ferns. There are definitely dwarf hostas. I have some, but I don't know their names. They don't grow taller than 3 or 4". The one neg to hostas is that they are not deer resistant, however.

[Kntry]

My Hostas aren't evergreen and I'm much warmer than Will. They also don't like a lot of water.

[Will]

Not many deer are silly enough to enter my "compound", unless they're really hungry.

Irish moss would be great, but won't take the wet. Maybe that vinca minor. I'm also thinking tri color jasmine might do it.

[addy1]

The deer don't eat my hosta's, no clue why not.
I have some veronica, waterperry speedwell that is growing into my bog. doing great too. Nice low growth, pretty blue flowers. some in shade, some in sun, both doing fine.

[Meganne]

impatients! low growers, love the water and come in a choice of colors

[Will]

Might use those for the short term, Meg, while other stuff grows in.

[Connie Langston]

Will what about watercress? I also have a pot of rosemary that stays in a swale/puddle next to my pond that seems to be OK with wet feet, I use so much of it that it stays low almost like a creeping juniper. I've had rosemary grow into very tall trees before, this one has been in the same place for 4 years and only 4" above the edge of the pot it's in.

c

[koikeepr]

I agree with Connie on rosemary liking wet. I have one right where my water overflow is, and the continuous water trickle hasn't affected it. It can be kept trimmed low too. The stuff does grow wild.

[Connie Langston]

And it smells SOOOOOO good, it's that blue green color with a touch of silver tips, lush, it's better than pretty, it's edible :iagree:.

[Will]

Might work. I usually don't consider it or many herbs, as they are so hard to contain. Might be an option, though.

[koikeepr]

You definitely have to keep rosemary trimmed up, but the good news is that it grows off a central stalk--so you just need to sheer it for shape. It does not spread wildly. The single plant just grows leaps and bounds.

[tranquility]

why not money wort---the green gets a yellow bloom...the golden version doesn't tend to bloom..but, it is ever green for the most part--it takes a major freeze to knock it back....and you can't hardly kill it...its called creeping Jenny in the aquatic plant world....
Lawanna

[Will]

Lawanna, I think that is the plant I've been trying to think of! I have had it here, I guess I'll see if I have any left among all the bog stuff. That's the one, though, just couldn't think of it. Thanks.

[addy1]

I have the green and the yellow, it turns a nice purple in the winter. Growing like crazy

[WeWilly]

string algae!

[Will]

Yup, could do duckweed, too, I'm actually thinking about that.

[koikeepr]

string algae!


OMG! I'm dying laughing! I'm am SURE that string algae would not only survive, but be evergreen! LOL! HA HA!