PLANT PROFILES: LOW-SPREADING EVERGREEN

Considered one of the staples of modern design…

…the evergreen’s versatility grants it a wide range of uses. UPRIGHT EVERGREEN species are best used as walls for outdoor rooms, blocking views, or defining space through hedges. EVERGREEN GROUNDCOVER hug tightly to the ground to create a pleasing blanket beneath plantings. 

Keeping a low profile while still creating a presence, LOW-SPREADING EVERGREENS dominate the middle planting layer. Their creeping nature, while not ideal for tiny landscapes, prove extremely useful for large planting swaths or growing along steep slopes prone to erosion.

Species in this category tend to grow dense, blocking most resources from reaching the ground, which makes weeding at maturity a cake-walk. And as they stay green year-round, they’re ideal for creating visual relief contrast to ornamental objects or plants in the landscape.

KEMORA PICKS	Juniper, Wintercreeper, Yew
SUN	Full Sun to Partial Shade
ORNAMENTAL INTERESTS	LOW-SPREADING EVERGREENS provide color in the winter and tend to creep outward with age. Their often tight-foliage offers a soft carpet texture to the landscape.
DESIGN USE	As the mid-range of evergreens, LOW-SPREADING EVERGREENS are great for covering large planting areas with year-round interest. They’re also ideal for securing steep slopes prone to water or wind erosion.
ALTERNATIVES	Like the winter ornamental value of an UPRIGHT EVERGREEN but hate its height? A LOW-SPREADING EVERGREENS stay closer to the ground with a wider growing habit.
Euonymus Photo Credit: Leonora (Ellie) Enking via Flickr [CC BY-SA 2.0]; Microbiota Photo Credit: Theresa Mattor via Flickr [CC BY-NC 2.0]; Juniper Photo Credit: F. D. Richards via Flickr [CC BY-SA 2.0].

Plant info found on Google is not always precise as it is an aggregate of information from around the world—so we want to share our observations from years of getting our hands dirty in the Second City. This post is the latest in one of our newest series, PLANT PROFILES, where we explore each plant category as well as the preferred species of Kemora. We love plants which in turn gives us a trained eye for trouble-shooting them. And it is our hope you will come to love them too!

Kemora Landscapes is a full-service design, build, and maintenance company based in Chicago.