If you find yourself dealing with spots in your garden that are extremely shady areas, or perhaps if you have an area that is shady at certain times of the day, it can be an issue determining the right plant life to grow in these areas.
In these cases you would have to look for a ground cover plant that is able to stand up to tougher work.
Pachysandra would be a good choice if you are looking to fill in these gaps as it does not mind the shade it is planted in, and it will do decent in soil that is a little more acidic by nature. However, you need to know how many to use.
Generally speaking, you will want to use around three or four plants for every square foot so they are quite close together.
The closer you can plant the pachysandra, the quicker it will fill in these gaps, which is you what you want in growing these plants.
This guide will review how much you should use and following up with that will look at what proper care looks like and how you can apply it.
What Is Pachysandra?
While it may not seem like it, pachysandra stems from the same family as your boxwood hedge. They are short plants that are most commonly used for ground coverage.
Specifically, people use them in shaded areas or poor soil conditions.
Moreover, pachysandra is a very tough plant and will not give up quickly when droughted. When you are getting good growth from them, they can get quite large, each plant can be two feet wide and a foot tall.
You can easily identify them because of their dark green leaves and variety of little white flowers in the spring.
How Much Pachysandra Do I Need?
When you are actually planting the pachysandra, you want to make sure you have good even coverage. This means that the plants need to be planted close together. In fact, you can plant as many as four plants per square foot!
Most people are using this plant to cover a large area and if you have a systematic approach, you can easily, and quickly, plant hundreds of plants in a very short period of time.
Again, this depends on the number of weeds. If there are weeds in the area, this will slow you down.
Caring For Pachysandra
Figuring out how much pachysandra to put in any one location is just a part of taking care of your pachysandra plants. You will also need to know when and how to plant them, as well as what kind of care they will take.
What’s The Best Time Of Year To Plant Pachysandra?
You have a choice of two times to plant pachysandra; early spring or just as the fall begins. You can try planting pachysandra anywhere, however, you will find that it does best in zones three to nine.
Since pachysandra is a plant that dislikes full sun, it’s nice to try to wait until you experience a cloudy day. You’ll want to plant the cuttings about four inches into the soil and be sure they are well watered.
Where To Plant Pachysandra?
Pachysandra is not fond of being in full sun. While it can handle some direct light, it prefers full shade. You’ll see the color of the leaves really show when growing in the right situation.
In addition, if it’s located in the full sun, it can burn the leaves as well so make sure that there is shady cover for most of the day.
You will also need to think about the soil where you’ll plant your pachysandra. The good news is that these are hardy plants that will tolerate harsher conditions and acidic soil.
You will want to check the pH level of the soil ideally between 5.5 and 6.5 pH level. However, provided the soil is well drained, this plant will accommodate itself to just about any pH level of soil.
Water And Feeding
Just like all plants, you will want to make sure that your pachysandra is watered and fed well.
Water regularly after planting so that the roots become established in the soil. Do not overwater, or you will ultimately kill your plant due to rot root.
The good news about pachysandra is that it is pretty low maintenance, especially as it relates to feeding. You only need to fertilize once a year using an organic fertilizer.
Pruning Your Pachysandra
Pachysandra can be a somewhat invasive species of plant, especially the Japanese species, and so you are going to want to make sure to keep it in check.
Fortunately, pruning is easy and can easily be accomplished using some shears at the start of the growing season.
Throughout the year, you can also clip the tips of the leaves to encourage new growth if you want.
Diseases And Pests
The Pachysandra plant is fairly tough, so it does not typically encounter many pests or diseases, however, you may experience leaf blight, but this can easily be addressed with fungicide treatment.
Why Do People Use Pachysandra?
Pachysandra is one of the most common plants used for pest deterrent (not just deer) and also a decorative plant where ground cover is needed and other plants won’t thrive.
Pachysandra makes a good border plant and spreads wide enough to develop a strong root system that is great for the soil and also prevents erosion issues.
Conclusion
Pachysandra is a fairly standard plant that people use for ground cover. It will do well and ship well in conditions that may make other plants shrivel.
When planting, good coverage is your priority. You can safely plant – and should add up to four to one square foot.