I want to rip out English ivy that covers a significant portion of our sloping back yard and replace with a less invasive native plant. Lots of mature trees, so it is shady. Was thinking creeping phlox, the partial shade variety, but not sure if it is a good substitute? |
Creeping phlox will be a good substitute. If you want more variety, try Golden ragwort (Packera aurea), Green and gold (Chrysogonum), Dwarf crested iris, various sedges (https://mtcubacenter.org/trials/carex-for-the-mid-atlantic-region/), Wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), etc. |
I'm trying lamium as a groundcover in dry shade |
Virginia creeper seems to grow well in the same places my English ivy did. |
I just bought a ton of chrysogonum virginianum (pierre) to replace a huge amount of ivy we pulled from a shady area. I don’t have it yet, but I’m hoping it works out. |
Thank you for the excellent advice! A maybe silly follow up question: I was looking at green and gold as an option but am also trying to get rid of lesser celandine - don’t they look somewhat similar? I’m not much of a gardener and afraid I’ll be confused by the two. Feel like I should be staying away from anything small creeping and yellow. |
Lesser celadine is non-native and wildly invasive. |
IRL, they aren't similar looking plants. But, if you're unsure about your ability to tell the two apart, you should stay away from green and gold. |
Just plant a whole bunch of Pennsylvania sedge. It’s native and needs virtually zero care. |
They are quite different looking...not hard at all to tell green and gold apart from lesser celandine. Marsh marigold is the native that looks a lot like lesser celandine...that could be more confusing. |
I have a similar slope. How are you planning to get rid of the ivy and how soon after can you plant a replacement? |