Creeping Charlie. Can it replace grass as a lawn?

[poconojoe]

I was reading one of the threads that mentioned Creeping Charlie as being invasive.

Can Creeping Charlie replace grass for a lawn that gets too little sun?

We used to have a pristine front lawn until all the trees got so big no grass will survive due to the full shade.

We tried many full shade grass seeds, but nothing survives. We even tried different types of clover.

I have a soil tester and it always seems within the proper parameters.

We added top soil, mulch, tilled it, etc.
The grass grows to a point, then as the trees fill with leaves, it all dies.

Can we use Creeping Charlie as a ground cover instead of grass?

Will Creeping Charlie survive our northeastern Pennsylvania Winters in zone 6b?

 

[addy1]

Can Creeping Charlie replace grass for a lawn that gets too little sun?

Oh yes it can live in sun, in shade, moist, and it will and can replace grass and everything else it grows near. I have it EVERYWHERE, it had over come some of my plants. I pull out wheelbarrels of the stuff trying to save some of my plants.

 

[addy1]

It does have pretty small lilac/purple flowers

 

[poconojoe]

Thanks!
Maybe that's a solution for our bare front yard!
I'll try it come Springtime.

 

[brokensword]

Thanks!
Maybe that's a solution for our bare front yard!
I'll try it come Springtime.

PJ; trust me, I be of landscaper stock, have seen many variations of trying to grow grass in the shade. My only ever answer is; shade-loving perennial ground cover. I usually suggest ivy and myrtle, with pachysandra for sunny situations. What I like about these three is it's a lot harder for weeds to grow in them. Once planted and thriving, they tend to choke out anything else. Another good alternative is to mulch everything. Or you can create paths of mulch amongst your ivy/ground cover patches. And of course, once you think this way, you can put in shade loving plants to make up for any loss of texture such as hosta. But beware, deer will welcome your yard as a salad bar if you don't take counter measures.


I've lost count of the many customers of mine who try so hard to plant their seed beneath shady trees; they do the work, stand back, look proud, even water correctly, get the seedlings going, looks great, nice and soft yellow green, it grows, it starts looking sparse, August hits, the ground starts showing, by September, it's almost back to being dirt again. My usual answer is either cut the trees up higher from the ground or plant ivy.

Anyway, maybe this helps.

 

[Marck]

Both Glechoma hederacea, also known as Ground-ivy, in the Mint Family (Lamiaceae), with lavender flowers,
and Lysimachia nummularia, also known as Moneywort or Creeping Jenny, in the Primrose Family (Primulaceae), with yellow flowers, can function well as a groundcover in bright shade situations. However, neither will take foot traffic nearly as well as grass.

 

[poconojoe]

PJ; trust me, I be of landscaper stock, have seen many variations of trying to grow grass in the shade. My only ever answer is; shade-loving perennial ground cover. I usually suggest ivy and myrtle, with pachysandra for sunny situations. What I like about these three is it's a lot harder for weeds to grow in them. Once planted and thriving, they tend to choke out anything else. Another good alternative is to mulch everything. Or you can create paths of mulch amongst your ivy/ground cover patches. And of course, once you think this way, you can put in shade loving plants to make up for any loss of texture such as hosta. But beware, deer will welcome your yard as a salad bar if you don't take counter measures.


I've lost count of the many customers of mine who try so hard to plant their seed beneath shady trees; they do the work, stand back, look proud, even water correctly, get the seedlings going, looks great, nice and soft yellow green, it grows, it starts looking sparse, August hits, the ground starts showing, by September, it's almost back to being dirt again. My usual answer is either cut the trees up higher from the ground or plant ivy.

Anyway, maybe this helps.

Thanks, very helpful!

Ivy I know, but myrtle, I'll have to look that one up.

Yes, lots of deer around here, so we're used to "sharing" or protecting.

That story you tell about your customers is our exact story! To the tee!
It ends up being all dirt. I won't even call it soil! It's just dirt!

What is it that's said about doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result? INSANITY! That's us. We go through that every year!

Last season we tried clover, but even that turned to dirt! Maybe some of that will come back in the Spring. We'll see.

I looked up artificial turf. Way too expensive! And I wonder how the leaves and acorns affect that stuff? Probably not well.

 

[poconojoe]

Both Glechoma hederacea, also known as Ground-ivy, in the Mint Family (Lamiaceae), with lavender flowers,
and Lysimachia nummularia, also known as Moneywort or Creeping Jenny, in the Primrose Family (Primulaceae), with yellow flowers, can function well as a groundcover in bright shade situations. However, neither will take foot traffic nearly as well as grass.

Thanks!

The area in question has sun in the Spring, but as the trees fill in with leaves it basically becomes full shade. By the height of Summer, the ground is just bare.

 

[Marck]

The 'Myrtle' Brokensword mentions is Vinca major in the Dogbane Family (Apocynaceae), also known as Greater Periwinkle.
It's native to southern Europe, Anatolia, and the Caucasus.

For North American native options consider Green-and-Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum). It has a good reputation for shady spots and yellow daisies for pollinators. Also Wild-ginger (Asarum canadense).

 

[addy1]

The 'Myrtle' Brokensword mentions is Vinca major in the Dogbane Family (Apocynaceae), also known as Greater Periwinkle.

I planted some of that in a bad dirt area in the front yard , it has filled in nicely and lilac colored flowers. Mine is variegated in color, the leaves. Gets zero care from me, ie water, fertilizer etc and grows well. We have a ton of deer they must not like it.

 

[Lisak1]

I would choose anything BUT creeping charley! Pachysandra or vinca would be my two suggestions. Both are beautiful and once established require nothing from you.

 

[poconojoe]

Ive been looking on the web and I think we have some of that myrtle near the pond. Is it the same thing as periwinkle?
I'll see if I can get a picture today if it's not all covered with snow.

 

[poconojoe]

I would choose anything BUT creeping charley! Pachysandra or vinca would be my two suggestions. Both are beautiful and once established require nothing from you.

It's a dense shade area. Would pachysandra grow in dense shade?
Just wondering why not Charlie? Too invasive?

 

[brokensword]

It's a dense shade area. Would pachysandra grow in dense shade?
Just wondering why not Charlie? Too invasive?

pachysandra likes sun, PJ. I have some on my west side, gets less sun and doesn't spread there as fast.

 

[poconojoe]

While looking on the web I saw Pennsylvania Sedge which looked green and wavy, but looks like it might grow a little too high for what I'm looking for. I guess I'm looking for more of a low ground cover, basically a replacement for grass.
Does anyone know anything about sedge?