Web Special
Plants for Sloping Sites

To stabilize slopes, look for low-maintenance mat-forming or cascading, perennial plants that colonize by suckering, self-layering, rooting along stems, or forming vigorous (but not too vigorous) stoloniferous root systems. Ideally they should not be attractive to deer or other pests. Observing regional natives, including grasses and vines, growing in road cuts and mountainsides often gives valuable clues. Here are some favorite plants for slopes from the designers and experts who contributed to the “Gardening on the Slope” article.

Karen Bussolini’s Stalwarts for the Northeast

Arabis procurrens
Carex siderosticha
Carex glauca
Deutzia gracilis ‘Nikko’
Dianthus spp.
Euphorbia amygdaloides
Lamium maculatum
Mazus reptans
Nepeta faassenii ‘Six Hills Giant’
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Phlox stolonifera
Rhus aromatica ‘Gro-low’
Sedum spp., especially S. kamtschaticum, S. sieboldii, S. spurium ‘Fuldaglut’,
S. spathulifolium, S. ‘Vera Jameson’
Stachys byzantina
Thymus spp.

Robert Welsch/Westover Landscape Design Favorites for the Northeast
(http://www.westoverld.com)

Ajuga reptans
Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’
Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris,
Iris reticulata
Liriope muscari
Rhus aromatica ‘Gro-low’
Stephanandra incisa ‘Crispa’
Vinca minor ‘Bowles’ Blue’

Lauren Springer Ogden’s Picks for Clay Soil, Cold Winters in the Rocky Mountains
(http://www.plantdrivendesign.com)

Achillea spp.
Antennaria spp., *A. ‘McClintock’
Anthemis biebersteiniana (syn. Anthemis marschalliana)
Aurenia saxatilis
Cerastium candidissimum
Delosperma spp.
Gypsophila repens
Nepeta spp.
Penstemon procumbens
Phedimus spp.
Phlox nana
Phlox subulata
Saponaria ocymoides
Satureja spp.
Veronica pectinata

Lew Whitney of Rogers Gardens Favorites For the West Coast (http://www.rogersgardens.com)

Aeonium spp.
Crassula spp.
Drosanthemum floribundum
Pittosporum crassifolium ‘Compacta’
Rosmarinus ‘Irene’ and other prostrate rosemarys
Senecio spp.
Westringia spp.

Kirk Shillinglaw of Prairie Nurser’s Recommendations for Deep Soil in the Midwest
(http://www.prairienursery.com)

Andropogon gerardii
Anemone canadensis
Asarum canadense
Carex muskingumensis
Coreopsis palmata
Elymus canadensis
Elymus virginicus
Panicum virgatum
Physostegia virginiana
Tradescantia occidentalis
Sedum ternatum