[087nancy]

First of all, I'm sure I'm on the wrong forum but I could find nothing related to my problem anywhere else on the site so my apologies!
I planted a lot o pachysandra this time last year. Our house is built into a hill so has a slope all around it. The slope is too steep to mow so I planted vinca major (doing great) and pachysandra. Unfortunately I didn't do my research well enough and planted the pachysandra on a sunny slope. It gets no shade. The pachysandra is growing, albeit very slowly, but is very pale and is being eaten by an unknown assailant!. Has anyone any advice? Should i dig it up and replant with vinca or will it accustom itself in time?

[kindredspirit]

I planted lots of Pachysandra a couple of years ago but I didn't realize it prefers acidic soil.

Mine is growing slowly but apparently that what it does for the first couple of years anyway.

The foliage is dark geen in the shade but is yellow with no shade.

My Pachysandra is also being eaten in one section of the garden by an unknown assailant but is perfect in the other parts of the garden. It's just the top leaves that are being eaten. The stalk is untouched.

So, to summarize; if your Pachysandra is out in the open, it'll be a golden yellow. I also think that if it's in too limey a soil it'll go yellow as well and'll need a load of manure or iron sulphate to counteract the limeiness.

[Greengage]

Never does as it says on the tin always patchy growth
i would plant either of the following mass planted or a selection planted in groups of 5
Berginia, Iberis sempervirens, Hypericum, Epimedium versicolor, Hedera helix, Cotoneaster horizantalis, Cerastium, Helianthemum, Lithodora or Juniper rependa and finally Persicaria superba that should give you enough to think about then again you could plant a selection of dogwoods.

[087nancy]

Thanks for the advice. Maybe I'm being too hard on my poor pachysandra and should give it a bit of time! It got hit badly by a severe frost when I planted it so that certainly didn't help. It is growing...just sloooooowly! I've learned a huge amount about gardening in the past couple of years (mostly through mistakes!) but patience is something I've yet to learn.

[Silver surfer]

I love Pachysandra terminalis.
We have acid soil. and I thought perfect conditions for it to be very happy.
Yet even after donkeys years, I find it oh so very very very slow.

Our neighbour spent a fortune covering a steep bank with membrane and planting dozens and dozens of Pachysandra in holes cut in membrane.
15 years later I think it has just about covered the bank!

[087nancy]

If I could do it again I wouldn't have planted it because although it's a ground cover plant, I wanted something a lot quicker growing. I'm tormented weeding around the plants. They've barely doubled in size in a year. I've propagated lots of cuttings indoors and they are growing nicely so I'll plant those in the gaps soon.

[Silver surfer]

May I recomment a huge load of composted bark.
Spread deeply between plants.
It will suppress any weeds .
Will last for several years until Pachysandra takes over weed suppression duty.
It was a life line for our garden maintenance.

[kindredspirit]

Where I've put leaf mould in some of my Pachysandra beds, they're doing great, bright glossy green and starting to expand. I just didn't have enough leaf mould to do them all.

I think it'll be basically a good ground cover plant because it's well behaved unlike Dead Nettle and Ajuga. The best plants ultimately in a garden are often those that slowest to grow.

[087nancy]

Silver surfer, I have bark mulch down and it does help but I think I need more. Kindred spirit, can you explain leaf mould? That's a new phrase to me!

[kindredspirit]

Leaf mould is the fallen leaves off the trees in the autumn.

I have a nearby farmer who collects the leaves for me in his farm. I only had four 1 ton bags to give him to fill up last year.

Does anyone know where I can buy those 1 ton bags? (used for myriad purposes in builders merchants)

[Geranimojess]

Try your local Hardware Store / Builder Supplier they usually use them for Sand Deliveries and some Refuse / Recycling Companies sell them also.....