Where Ecology and Horticulture Unite
45 Groundcover Selections
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Spreading Juniper
Juniperus horizontalis
Category: Evergreen Shrubs
Height: 6"-8"
Width: 6'-12'
Sun: full, part
Water Use: medium, low
Soil Types: well-drained sand, loam, clay tolerant
Fruit Color: blue
Fruit Type: cone
Edible Parts: fruit
Fall Color: blue, purple
Zone: 2-4
Recommended: Fragrant Garden, Groundcover, Edible Garden
Comments: Low, spreading deep green foliage. Forms dense groundcover. Abundant in far north of Minnesota and occurs locally on exposed sandstone cliffs in southeastern Minnesota.
Retail Pricing
#7 Cont.: $52.0024"+ spread
Oak Fern ref
Gymnocarpium dryopteris
Category: Ferns
Height: 6"-1'
Width: 1'
Sun: part, shade
Soil Moisture: wet, wet-mesic, mesic
Soil Types: well-drained; sand & clay tolerant
Recommended: Deer Resistant, Groundcover
Comments: Rhizomatous.
For reference only. Not currently stocked.
Christmas Fern ref
Polystichum acrostichoides
Category: Ferns
Height: 2'-3'
Width: 1'-3'
Sun: part, shade
Soil Moisture: mesic, mesic-dry, dry
Soil Types: well-drained, humus-rich
Zone: 3-8
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Evergreen/semi-evergreen. Use as an accent or massed as a groundcover.
For reference only. Not currently stocked.
Palm (Swamp Oval) Sedge
Carex muskingumensis
Category: Grasses, Rushes, & Sedges
Height: 2'-3'
Width: 1'
Sun: full, part, shade
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic
Soil Types: clay tolerant
Bloom Period: May-June
Flower Color: green
Zone: 4-7
Recommended: Deer Resistant, Groundcover
Comments: Use as a groundcover or accent.
Retail Pricing
#1 Cont.: $9.95
Pennsylvania Sedge
Carex pennsylvanica
Category: Grasses, Rushes, & Sedges
Height: 6"-12'
Sun: full, part, shade
Soil Moisture: mesic, mesic-dry, dry
Soil Types: sand, loam
Zone: 4-5
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Graceful, arching, dark green foliage. Excellent for massing in woodlands. Rhizomatous. Cool-season growth.
Retail Pricing
4" Cont.: $5.50
#1 Cont.: $10.95
Path Rush
Juncus tenuis
Category: Grasses, Rushes, & Sedges
Height: 4"-1'4"
Width: 1'
Sun: full, part
Soil Moisture: mesic, mesic-dry, dry
Fruit Color: brown
Zone: 2-5
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Excellent for massing/borders & making a seamless prairie garden Fine-textured foliage. Cool-season growth. Rhizomatous.
Retail Pricing
#1 Cont.: $9.95
Bearberry ref
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Category: Deciduous Shrubs
Height: 6"-1'
Width: 2'+
Sun: full, part
Soil Moisture: mesic, mesic-dry, dry
Soil Types: acidic, sandy/loam
Bloom Period: April-May
Flower Color: pink, white
Fruit Color: red
Fruit Type: berry
Fall Color: maroon
Wildlife: Bird
Zone: 2-5
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Glossy, semi-evergreen foliage. Erosion control. Spreading groundcover habit.
For reference only. Not currently stocked.
Bunchberry ref
Cornus canadensis
Category: Deciduous Shrubs
Height: 6"-9"
Width: 6"+
Sun: part, shade
Soil Types: acidic (pH 4.5-6), fine loam/organic
Bloom Period: May-July
Flower Color: white
Fruit Period: July-October
Fruit Color: red
Fruit Type: berry
Edible Parts: fruit
Fall Color: red, maroon, purple
Zone: 2-3
Recommended: Deer Resistant, Groundcover, Edible Garden
Comments: Glossy foliage. Rhizomatous colonizer.
For reference only. Not currently stocked.
Wintergreen ref
Gaultheria procumbens
Category: Deciduous Shrubs
Height: 6"
Width: 6"+
Sun: part, shade
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic, mesic
Soil Types: acidic
Bloom Period: May-August
Flower Color: white
Fruit Color: red
Fruit Type: berry
Fall Color: red
Zone: 3-4
Recommended: Ornamental Garden, Fragrant Garden, Groundcover
Comments: Spreading, aromatic groundcover. Rhizomatous. Thick, glossy leaves. Bell-shaped flowers. Berries persist through winter.
For reference only. Not currently stocked. Creeping Dewberry ref
Rubus spp.
Category: Deciduous Shrubs
Height: 6"-1'
Width: 1'+
Sun: part, shade
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic, mesic
Soil Types: well-drained
Flower Color: white
Fruit Period: July-August
Fruit Type: berry
Edible Parts: fruit
Wildlife: Bird
Zone: 3-5
Recommended: Groundcover, Edible Garden
Comments: Deeply-cut, fernlike foliage. Excellent woodland groundcover. Info based on R. hispida.
For reference only. Not currently stocked.
Common Lowbush Blueberry out
Vaccinium angustifolium
Category: Deciduous Shrubs
Height: 1'-2'
Width: 1'-2'
Sun: full, part
Water Use: medium
Soil Moisture: mesic
Soil Types: sand, loam
Bloom Period: May-June
Flower Color: white
Fruit Period: July-September
Fruit Color: blue
Fruit Type: berry
Edible Parts: fruit
Fall Color: red, maroon
Wildlife: Bird, Bee
Zone: 2-3
Recommended: Groundcover, Edible Garden
Comments: Bell-shaped flowers. Flood tolerant.
Out of stock. Prices/sizes for reference only.
Retail Pricing
#1 Cont.: $16.006-12" 2025
Virgin's Bower
Clematis virginiana
Category: Vines
Height: 12'-15'
Width: 6'-8'
Sun: full, part
Soil Moisture: wet, wet-mesic, mesic
Soil Types: well-drained
Bloom Period: July-August
Flower Color: white, cream
Fruit Period: August-September
Zone: 3-5
Recommended: Deer Resistant, Groundcover
Comments: Vigorous twisting vine of woods, thickets, and bottomlands. Showy seed plumes. Use on a trellis, vine, or as a groundcover.
Retail Pricing
#1 Cont.: $18.00
Red Vine Honeysuckle
Lonicera dioica
Category: Vines
Height: 5'-10'
Sun: part, shade
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic, mesic, mesic-dry, dry
Soil Types: tolerates rocky
Bloom Period: May-June
Flower Color: red
Fruit Color: red, orange
Fruit Type: berry
Wildlife: Bird, Bee, Hummingbird, Bumblebee
Recommended: Groundcover
Retail Pricing
#1 Cont.: $39.00
Yellow Vine Honeysuckle
Lonicera prolifera
Category: Vines
Height: 10'-15'
Width: 4'-8'
Sun: full, part, shade
Water Use: medium
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic, mesic
Soil Types: well-drained
Bloom Period: May-June
Flower Color: yellow, cream
Fruit Color: red, orange
Fruit Type: berry
Wildlife: Bird, Bee, Hummingbird, Bumblebee
Zone: 4
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: AKA Lonicera reticulata. Vigorous, mat-forming, blue-green leaves. Found in light oak woods, ravines, bluffs, rocky banks. SE MN.
Retail Pricing
#1 Cont.: $29.00
Woodbine
Parthenocissus inserta
Category: Vines
Height: 12'-20'
Width: 3'-6'
Sun: part, shade
Water Use: medium
Flower Color: green
Fruit Color: blue, black
Fruit Type: berry
Fall Color: red
Wildlife: Bird
Zone: 3-8
Recommended: Deer Resistant, Groundcover
Comments: Uses tendrils to climb. Flood tolerant. Human-poisonous fruit relished by birds.
Retail Pricing
#2 Cont.: $18.00
Virginia Creeper ref
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Category: Vines
Height: 50'
Sun: full, part, shade
Water Use: low
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic
Soil Types: clay, sandy, rocky, limestone
Bloom Period: May-June
Flower Color: green
Fruit Period: September
Fruit Color: blue, black
Fruit Type: berry
Fall Color: red, maroon
Wildlife: Bird
Zone: 2-6
Recommended: Deer Resistant, Groundcover
Comments: Flood tolerant. Trailing or climbing habit with suction discs & aerial tendrils/rootlets. Ravines & bluffs. Poisonous fruit.
For reference only. Not currently stocked.
Canada Mayflower
Anemone canadensis
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 1'-2'
Width: 1'+
Sun: full, part
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic
Bloom Period: May-June
Flower Color: white
Zone: 3-4
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Dark green foliage. Rhizomatous.
Retail Pricing
#1 Cont.: $14.00
Rue Anemone
Anemonella thalictroides
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 4"-6"
Width: 1'
Sun: part, shade
Soil Moisture: mesic
Soil Types: loam
Bloom Period: April-May
Flower Color: pink
Zone: 4
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Jewel of SE MN woodlands. Ephemeral.
Retail Pricing
4" Cont.: $12.95
Prairie Pussy Toes
Antennaria neglecta
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 4"
Width: 6"+
Sun: full, part
Water Use: low
Soil Moisture: mesic, mesic-dry, dry
Soil Types: sand, loam
Bloom Period: April-June
Flower Color: white
Wildlife: Butterfly
Zone: 3-5
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Rhizomatous. Dense groundcover for sunny borders/paths.
Retail Pricing
4" Cont.: $8.75
#1 Cont.: $9.95
Wild Ginger out
Asarum canadense
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 6"-1'
Sun: part, shade
Water Use: medium
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic, mesic
Soil Types: cool
Bloom Period: May-June
Flower Color: pink, white, maroon
Wildlife: Beetle
Zone: 4-5
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Rhizomatous. Excellent groundcover. Dark green leaves. Aromatic roots.
Out of stock. Prices/sizes for reference only.
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Ground Plum ref
Astragalus crassicarpus
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 6"-1'
Width: 1'
Sun: full
Water Use: low
Soil Moisture: dry
Bloom Period: April-May
Flower Color: pink, magenta, purple
Fruit Color: red, purple
Fruit Type: pod
Edible Parts: fruit
Recommended: Groundcover, Edible Garden
Comments: Clump-forming. Excellent in dry soils.
For reference only. Not currently stocked.
Partridge Pea
Chamaechrista fasciculata
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 6"-3'
Width: 1'
Sun: full, part
Soil Moisture: mesic, mesic-dry, dry
Bloom Period: July-September
Flower Color: yellow
Fruit Color: brown
Fruit Type: pod
Wildlife: Ant, Bee, Bumblebee
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Nitrogen fixer. Extra-floral nectaries. Annual. Freely reseeds.
Retail Pricing
3" Cont.: $8.75
Cutleaf Toothwort out
Dentaria laciniata
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 6"
Width: 1'
Sun: part
Soil Moisture: mesic
Soil Types: loam
Bloom Period: April-May
Flower Color: pink, white
Fruit Color: white
Zone: 3-7
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Slow-spreading woodland groundcover. Now assigned to Cardamine concatenata.
Out of stock. Prices/sizes for reference only.
Dutchman's Breeches out
Dicentra cucullaria
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 6"-1'
Width: 1'
Sun: part, shade
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic
Soil Types: rich
Bloom Period: April-May
Flower Color: white
Wildlife: Bee, Bumblebee
Zone: 3-5
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Lacy, blue-green foliage. Arching habit. Great border plant. Ephemeral.
Out of stock. Prices/sizes for reference only.
Retail Pricing
4" Cont.: $8.752025
White Trout Lily out
Erythronium albidum
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 4"-6"
Width: 4"+
Sun: part, shade
Water Use: medium
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic, mesic
Bloom Period: April-May
Flower Color: white
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Attractive, blue-green & maroon spotted foliage. Long-lived colonies. Rhizomatous spreader. Ephemeral.
Out of stock. Prices/sizes for reference only.
Retail Pricing
4" Cont.: $8.752025
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Yellow Trout Lily out
Erythronium americanum
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 6"
Width: 6"-8"
Sun: shade
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic, mesic
Bloom Period: April-May
Flower Color: yellow
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Silvery-maroon, mottled leaves. Ephemeral.
Out of stock. Prices/sizes for reference only.
Retail Pricing
4" Cont.: $8.752025
Large-Leaved Aster
Eurybia macrophylla
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 2'-3'
Width: 1'+
Sun: full, part
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic, mesic
Bloom Period: September-October
Flower Color: blue, white, lavender
Wildlife: Butterfly
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Prefers filtered light / part shade. Rhizomatous.
Retail Pricing
#1 Cont.: $11.95
Wild Strawberry
Fragaria virginiana
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 6"
Width: 8"+
Sun: full
Soil Moisture: mesic, mesic-dry, dry
Bloom Period: April-May
Flower Color: white
Fruit Period: June-July
Fruit Color: red
Edible Parts: fruit
Fall Color: red, maroon
Zone: 3-5
Recommended: Groundcover, Edible Garden
Comments: Tasty, edible 3/8" fruit in summer. Spreads by runners. Excellent groundcover.
Retail Pricing
4" Cont.: $5.50
Northern Bedstraw
Galium boreale
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 1'-2'
Width: 1'+
Sun: full, part
Water Use: high, medium
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic
Soil Types: loam
Bloom Period: June-July
Flower Color: white
Zone: 4
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Fine-textured foliage. Rhizomatous.
Retail Pricing
3" Cont.: $6.50
Wild Geranium
Geranium maculatum
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 1'-2'
Width: 1'6"+
Sun: part, shade
Soil Moisture: mesic
Soil Types: humus-rich sand, loam
Bloom Period: April-July
Flower Color: pink, lavender
Fall Color: red
Zone: 3-5
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Excellent for borders & massing.
Retail Pricing
4" Cont.: $8.75
#1 Cont.: $12.95
Prairie Smoke
Geum triflorum
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 6"-1'
Width: 1'+
Sun: full, part
Soil Moisture: mesic, mesic-dry, dry
Soil Types: sand, loam
Bloom Period: April-June
Flower Color: pink, red, silver
Fall Color: red, green, maroon, purple
Zone: 4-5
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Attractive, feathery seedheads. Excellent for massing/groundcover. Rhizomatous.
Retail Pricing
4" Cont.: $8.75
#1 Cont.: $12.95
Sharp-Lobed Hepatica out
Hepatica acutiloba
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 4"-6"
Width: 6"-1'
Sun: part, shade
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic
Soil Types: orgainic loam
Bloom Period: March-May
Flower Color: pink, blue, white, lavender
Fall Color: red, brown, maroon
Zone: 4
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Found in maple forests of southern MN. Ephemeral.
Out of stock. Prices/sizes for reference only.
Alumroot (Prairie Coralbells)
Heuchera richardsonii
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 1'-3'
Width: 1'
Sun: full, part
Soil Moisture: mesic, mesic-dry, dry
Soil Types: sand, loam
Bloom Period: May-July
Flower Color: red, yellow, green, brown
Wildlife: Hummingbird
Zone: 4
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Excellent foliage plant with burgundy-tinged leaves. Use as accent/border plant.
Retail Pricing
#1 Cont.: $9.95
Goldenseal out
Hydrastis canadensis
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 6"-1'4"
Width: 8"+
Sun: part, shade
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic
Soil Types: humus-rich
Bloom Period: April-May
Flower Color: white
Fruit Color: red
Fruit Type: berry
Fall Color: yellow
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Rare due to over-harvesting in the wild. Likes winter leaf cover. Rhizomatous.
Out of stock. Prices/sizes for reference only.
Virginia Waterleaf out
Hydrophyllum virginianum
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 6"-1'
Width: 2'+
Sun: part, shade
Water Use: high, medium
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic
Soil Types: loam
Bloom Period: April-May
Flower Color: white, lavender
Wildlife: Bee, Bumblebee
Zone: 4-5
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Found in deciduous woodlands. Rhizomatous.
Out of stock. Prices/sizes for reference only.
Retail Pricing
#1 Cont.: $12.95
Dwarf Crested Iris ref
Iris cristata
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 6"
Width: 1'+
Sun: part, shade
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic
Soil Types: loam
Bloom Period: April-May
Flower Color: blue
Zone: 3-5
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Excellent as groundcover or for massing. Native to IL.
For reference only. Not currently stocked.
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False Rue Anemone out
Isopyrum biternatum
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 4"-1'4"
Sun: part, shade
Bloom Period: April-May
Flower Color: white
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Rhizomatous. Now assigned to Enemion biternatum.
Out of stock. Prices/sizes for reference only.
Retail Pricing
3" Cont.: $6.502025
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Twinleaf out
Jeffersonia diphylla
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 4"-1'6"
Width: 6"-9"
Sun: part, shade
Water Use: medium
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic
Soil Types: cool, well-drained, humus-rich, limestone
Bloom Period: April-May
Flower Color: white
Fruit Type: pod
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Large, paired leaves. Clump-former. Showy fruit & flowers. Keep soil cool & moist with mulch. Does well under deciduous trees and in moist woodlands. Good for massing.
Out of stock. Prices/sizes for reference only.
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Wild Lily-of-the-Valley out
Maianthemum canadense
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 3"-6"
Width: 1'+
Sun: part, shade
Water Use: medium
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic, mesic, mesic-dry, dry
Bloom Period: May-June
Flower Color: white
Fruit Color: red, green
Fruit Type: berry
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Star-shaped flowers. Rhizomatous. Aka Moose Ears.
Out of stock. Prices/sizes for reference only.
Retail Pricing
Sod Flat: $49.002025
Bishop's Cap out
Mitella diphylla
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 10"-1'6"
Sun: part, shade
Bloom Period: April-June
Flower Color: white
Recommended: Groundcover
Out of stock. Prices/sizes for reference only.
Retail Pricing
4" Cont.: $12.002025
Mayapple
Podophyllum peltatum
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 1'-2'
Width: 1'+
Sun: part
Soil Moisture: mesic
Soil Types: rich, organic
Bloom Period: May-June
Flower Color: white
Fruit Color: yellow
Fruit Type: berry
Wildlife: Bee, Bumblebee
Zone: 4
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Umbrella-like leaves. Moist, open woods of southern MN. Rhizomatous.
Retail Pricing
#1 Cont.: $12.95
Prairie Blue Eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium campestre
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 9"-1'
Width: 9"-1'
Sun: full, part
Soil Moisture: mesic, mesic-dry
Soil Types: loam
Bloom Period: May-July
Flower Color: blue, violet
Zone: 3-5
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Gives the appearance of grass with flowers.
Retail Pricing
4" Cont.: $9.95
Aromatic Aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 1'-2'
Width: 1'+
Sun: full
Water Use: low
Soil Moisture: dry
Soil Types: sand, loam
Bloom Period: September-October
Flower Color: purple
Wildlife: Butterfly
Zone: 4
Recommended: Fragrant Garden, Groundcover
Comments: Aromatic flowers. Rhizomatous. Excellent for massing.
Retail Pricing
#1 Cont.: $9.95
Longbract Spiderwort
Tradescantia bracteata
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 1'-1'6"
Width: 1'6"-2'
Sun: full
Soil Moisture: mesic, mesic-dry, dry
Soil Types: shallow, rocky
Bloom Period: May-July
Flower Color: purple, violet
Wildlife: Bee
Zone: 4-9
Recommended: Groundcover
Comments: Showy flowers. Drought tolerant.
Retail Pricing
#1 Cont.: $9.95
Downy Yellow Violet out
Viola pubescens
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 6"-1'
Width: 1'
Sun: part, shade
Soil Moisture: wet-mesic
Soil Types: cool
Bloom Period: April-May
Flower Color: yellow
Edible Parts: flowers
Wildlife: Butterfly
Zone: 3-5
Recommended: Groundcover, Edible Garden
Comments: Woodland margins & borders.
Out of stock. Prices/sizes for reference only.
Retail Pricing
4" Cont.: $9.952025
