Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Is there anything I could grow under Leylandii to make it look neater? Would like to discourage cats

13

Posts

  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    I bought a deep-blue flowered vinca plant about 5 years ago. It was in a 1 litre pot and was planted at the very base of a 30m high ash tree. It now stretches about 5m in either direction, putting down roots and forming new plants as it goes - so you wouldn't need many of those! However, I think it is probably V. major which can be a bit of a thug. But it's a pretty flower and makes very effective ground cover if you're happy to leave it to do it's own thing.

    If you're going for the V. minor you could try one plant about every 3 feet along the base of the leylandii perhaps in a staggered row. Come autumn you could interplant with some bulbs (if you can get your trowel deep enough into the soil!).  Daffs look nice rising above the foliage but need to go in quite deep - mini tete-a-tete might be a compromise. Cyclamen and wood anemones can be (should be?) planted very shallow but could get lost amongst the leaves when the vinca really gets going - but worth thinking about. Bluebells could work as well.
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited May 2023

    Hedera helix "curly locks"


    As you know, nothing grows under a Cedar, in this case deodara.  But open low down.

    But the flowering answers I would support as well.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    edited May 2023
    Ah yes Fairygirl, they tend to do exactly what they want, regardless! They've shifted their attentions to a different sandy area without plants, but I'll probably have a nightmare keeping them off when I take the weeds out and am nursing my new plants.
    Vinca is sounding very good indeed :) and blue ones it is!
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    edited May 2023
    Topbird, that is so helpful, it completely answers my questions about spreading/how many to buy!  Hmm I'll have a research/think and decide whether major or minor is the best one to get.

    I absolutely love the idea of bulbs in there, it's something I've been wondering about. Mini daffs, bluebells, cyclamen and wood anenomies - thank you for these ideas I think I'm going to go for it. :)
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    edited May 2023
    Wow that's an absolute sea of green bédé!  Great to see a picture, and how much it rises upwards, I didn't expect that, for some reason I imagined it flat to the ground.

    Very dense covering, I challenge any cat to use that as a toilet.
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    Would it be OK to spray citronella around/on the young plants when I am nurturing them, or would it harm them?  The spray is water, alcohol, and citronella oil, and is pretty good for discouraging cats. I also have some eucalyptus oil I'm going to make a spray from.
  • TheGreenManTheGreenMan Posts: 1,957
    I’ll take some pics of my vinca minor (planted last summer) tomorrow. 

    It’s doing a grand job of covering the soil. 👍🏼
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    Would love to see that TheGreenMan and especially such a recent planting, it will be interesting to see how far it has spread.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    I'd avoid the V major unless you want to be constantly keeping it in check once it settles in.  It can be a bit of a nightmare as it will climb as well as spread at ground level.
    The V minor variegated form will also spread at a great rate but is easier to control so could be a better bet if that is what you have decided on.  
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited May 2023
    For the record. I inherited  Vinca minor blue, white, purple and double purple.  It's better ground cover than major.   None of them flower much for me in deep shade.But there are, I think, better plants for your issue.

    I didn't have a pic for hibernica, so took one this morning.    It's not the most exciting plant, but very efficient at covering ground.




    Whilst I was out with my camera (yes, a camera) I took this pic of Epimedium.  If you insist, I can probably find the name.  It's the heart-shape leaf, apple green plant, rhs foreground.  It has yellow flowers ( you can see how free these are at peak flowering time!!) but most importantly it has very active spreading rhizomes.

    Other plants in the pic are wild garlic and bluebells.



    Ground-cover is my middle name!
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Sign In or Register to comment.