alternatives ground covers

[mrjigger]

I have a rather large area of grass that I maintain at my house. probably around 2 acres. I am trying to reduce the amount of grass I have to water and maintain. are there any other alternatives I could use as a ground cover that would require less maintenance? Also I have many smaller spruce trees in the area that I would like the alternative ground cover. I would also like to kill the grass around the spuce trees, but fear I would kill the trees also. Is there anything I could use to kill the grass and not the trees?

[troutstix]

Hi mrjigger,

If the tree branches are trimmed up, you can use any product with glyphosate as the active ingredient (Killzall, Roundup, Kleenup, etc.). As long as you do not hit any needles, the chemical becomes null and void when it contacts the soil. So, you can spray right up to and on the bark/roots near the ground. If the trees are real small it becomes a little harder because the branches/needles are contacting the grass. You can try to use a pickle bucket/cardboard box to cover the young trees. Your other option would be to find a product called POAST, it can be sprayed over the top of a lot of veggies/ornamentals/trees/shrubs and will not kill anything but the grasses. You would want to double check on the label that it is listed for spruce.

Groundcovers- you could check into Dutch White Clover or Birdsfoot Trefoil. If you can find any Sheep Fescue, it only gets 6-8" tall and does not need to be mowed (works well for people with cabins etc.). Still need the water, but could cut down on the mowing. It is a fine bladed grass. One problem is the seed can be expensive, as much as hybrid bluegrass (and more in some instances). Good Luck!