I need perennials that spread, are maintenance free, and grow faster than weeds.

[J-rap]

I guess that's pretty self-explanatory.  :lol:

[SparklyUnicorn]

dill?

 

LOL

 

 

[The Girls' Mom]

Shady areas:  Creeping Jenny

 

Full sun: Thyme

[Laura Corin]

Full sun: cat mint; lambs' ears.  Check your climate though...

[The Girls' Mom]

Salvia/Sage is another that grows well for me in partial shade.  

 

Oh, and not perennial, but sweet potato vines grow like mad and can choke out other things.  

 

[catz]

I think it really depends where you are.  Look at your area's native plants!

[Laurie4b]

What area of the country do you live in? What kind of sun does it get? Full? Partial? Shade? 

[FriedClams]

my rosemary had been prolific...lantana is good...gardenia are tough...

[mommymonster]

For an annual, nasturtiums. We used to plant our entire front yard with them!

[bzymom]

Black-eyed Susans 

[Paula in MS]

yarrow and coreopsis

[Laura Corin]

yarrow and coreopsis

 

Coreopsis is great but it's short-lived here: maybe two or three years then it dies for no discernible reason.  I don't know if that is the same in all climates.  Yarrow is good.  Depending on the climate, looking up 'prairie planting' might help the OP - lots of very tough plants that spread well.

 

Oh - Monarda/bergamot spreads like crazy here too.

[ErinE]

What's your gardening zone (if you're in the U.S.)? Also, what region? A zone 7 in Texas is different from a zone 7 on the east or west coast.

[J-rap]

What area of the country do you live in? What kind of sun does it get? Full? Partial? Shade? 

 

We're up north.  Looks like we're mostly in zone 4a and 4b.  We get a mix of everything throughout our yard, as far as sun and shade.

[J-rap]

Coreopsis is great but it's short-lived here: maybe two or three years then it dies for no discernible reason.  I don't know if that is the same in all climates.  Yarrow is good.  Depending on the climate, looking up 'prairie planting' might help the OP - lots of very tough plants that spread well.

 

Oh - Monarda/bergamot spreads like crazy here too.

 

Thanks!  I'll look up prairie planting.  We're in north country, with long cold winters -- but definitely prairie land!

 

[J-rap]

What's your gardening zone (if you're in the U.S.)? Also, what region? A zone 7 in Texas is different from a zone 7 on the east or west coast.

 

We're zone 4a and 4b in the upper midwest.

[J-rap]

Thanks everybody!  I'm taking notes and am going to go seed/plant shopping tomorrow.  I'm just so tired of our yard looking the way it looks!  I guess I just need to have at it.  :)

 

 

[whitestavern]

Phlox?

[prairiewindmomma]

Salvia

Lavender

Monarda

Karl forester ornamental grass (sun loving but does great in my partial shade)

Hosta

Shasta daisies (again, in my yard they are loving partial shade)

 

Bunnies eat almost everything else in my yard.

[gardenmom5]

water matters - some are thirsty, some do well with drought.

some like poor soil, some are picky.

some do well on hills, other's flat.

 

what's is it like where you want to plant?

 

ground covers

snow-in-summer/ cerestum.

Siberian sedum (drought tolerant, hardy to -20, does well in full sun)

 

lady's mantel 

lambs ear.

dianthus

mint

lemon balm

 

 

what you may want are things that will spread freely via seed as well.

snapdragons

California poppy

Labrador violets

  daisies (English, Shasta, etc.)

hardy geranium

 

 

some I've had better luck buying  a plant - and the plant will sow seed for me . . . .

 

 

 

[catz]

Well if you're 4A/4B area that's my area too.  Here's a nice post on native plants we used to start a butterfly garden (which we started a number of years ago and haven't touched since - super easy).  It's especially great if you're actually in MN because it has suppliers.  :)

 

 

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/gardens/nativeplants/index.html

[JFSinIL]

Mint.

Plus look at what plants native to your zone may fit the bill.

[hmvaughan4]

Sedum

[Tanaqui]

Mint, probably. What plants are native to your area?

[BrookValley.]

Beware of mint and lemon balm; you will never, ever be rid of that stuff. Those are container-only plants for me!

 

I have a lot of:

 

Lamb's ear (also tenacious, but not so bad as mint or lemon balm. Good ground cover--I cut back or rip out the flower stalks and keep it low to the ground)

Yarrow

Echinacea/coneflower (perennial, but also spreads very well by self-sowing if you let the flowers dry on the stalk)

Lavender

Sedum

Salvias

Hardy, easy roses ("knockout" roses)

Iris

Daylillies

Coral bells

Catmint (not a regular mint, at least the variety I have. Clumping, not spreading)

 

All of this grows in partial shade for me, though many would be labeled full sun.

[Reefgazer]

Depends on your climate.  In southern Virginia, we are hot in summer and relatively mild winter.  Rosemary is perennially green and grows like a weed here; hosta if you have shade.  Mint grows well here also.  If it's flowers you want, garden phlox are beautiful spring bloomers, and lantana are good partial shade plants. 

[ErinE]

Stay away from mint! Don't plant it except in a container. Don't even plant it in the ground in a container. It will escape and you'll never be rid of it.

 

I thought I could keep it under control...

 

I was wrong.

[Tsuga]

It depends on what you're okay with. I'm okay with a whole yard of strawberries, clover, rosemary, and sage, surrounding the bushes. But we'll never get rid of it.

 

I used to love chewing mint leaves as a child. I'm not that old--this was in the eighties.

 

Clover does fill things in nicely and brings the bees.

[KungFuPanda]

I'm experimenting with rupturewort "green carpet." It's a green, non-grass ground cover. So far I've planted the worlds tiniest seeds in flats and they have now sprouted. If I can keep them alive, my next step is to put them in the ground to see if they make it. I'm attempting to make my sloped front yard green but eliminate the need to mow.

[Guest obinderwer]

Look at your area's native plants!

[hellen]

I was googling this a few weeks ago. I came across a site that finished the description of what you and I want. Once it quickly fills the area, it will stop growing so fast and behave well. That plant doesn't exist but it would be really nice if it did. That's why you're getting warnings on some of the fast growing plants.

 

FWIW, I got free mulch from the power company to fill my problem area. It sounds like you need a different solution though.

[Ewe Mama]

Evening primrose?

[MSNative]

I tried that in one part of my yard as a new gardener. Oy! The weeds still grow through the good plants and the good plants become weeds themselves. That whole area just looked like a big old mess. Ack! Now this is how I deal with problem spots that I don't really want to maintain much. (It's not organic, but it is fast)

Mow area(if appropriate) then spray round up all over the area to kill the weeds. Follow the directions on how long before you should plant in that area. Mine is just a day or so I think. Then add soil if it needs it which it probably will. Shade - plant daffodils, hostas and ferns. I love autumn ferns. Put lots of layers of newspaper all over the area. area. Soak it. Mulch it. Throw preen over all of it. In your zone all of those will die down so you can easily round up the weeds each fall and early spring. Hostas can be divided to make more and fill in. The area will look tidy and need very little maintenance (cutting back dead leaves is about it. And if you don't do that it still won't hurt the plants.)

Sun - knock out roses, black eyed Susan's, purple coneflower, and butterfly bushes are pretty, easy to find, inexpensive and low maintenance.

[In The Great White North]

Brown Eyed Susans

Mint

Bee Balm

 

All perennials that spread and grow faster than weeds are invasive.

[HeWillSoar]

Bee balm, black eyed Susan, sedum, ajuga, hardy chrysanthemum, obedient plant. 

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Periwinkle, aka Vinca, aka Myrtle, aka Creeping Myrtle, technically vinca minor

 

When I lived in Colorado Springs, I filled large beds with very few beginning plants.  It likes shade.

 

Has deep green leaves and periwinkle flowers.  Pretty and sweet.  I love it.

[J-rap]

water matters - some are thirsty, some do well with drought.

some like poor soil, some are picky.

some do well on hills, other's flat.

 

what's is it like where you want to plant?

 

 

 

 . .

 

Our ground is flat and the soil seems clumpy and old.  (I'm not sure how else to describe it...)  We get lots of rain in the spring, hot and humid summers, and long frigid winters... 

 

 

[J-rap]

Well if you're 4A/4B area that's my area too.  Here's a nice post on native plants we used to start a butterfly garden (which we started a number of years ago and haven't touched since - super easy).  It's especially great if you're actually in MN because it has suppliers.  :)

 

 

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/gardens/nativeplants/index.html

 

Thanks!  I'll check that out.  Sounds interesting!