Groundcover such as bugleweed may fill stubborn areas

Q. We have an area of lawn under some shade trees that is sparse. We’ve seeded it with a specialty seed mix that is supposed to do well for shady areas, but we still haven’t had any luck establishing a lawn there. Recently we’ve considered planting a groundcover that would do well in that area. Can you recommend a groundcover for a fairly shady area? We want to avoid annuals, so please suggest some hardy perennials that cover ground quickly. – M.&L.R., Castine

A. Pachysandra, bugleweed (also called ajuga) and vinca (or periwinkle) are perennial groundcovers that grow well in shady spots. Sweet woodruff and forget-me-nots also grow well. These plants are fairly low growing, however, groundcovers don’t have to stay low. Other flowering shade-loving perennial plants that may be suitable for your area include hosta, columbine, gooseneck, soapwort and foxglove.

Q. I’m a first-time gardener. I started many annual flower and vegetable seedlings in my house, many of them too early, apparently. I set very tall plants out into the garden and they promptly got flattened by the wind. Is there something I can do (or could have done) to save these plants? – T.M., Brooks

A. It can be difficult to know exactly when to sow seed for plants we start for the garden. Even if the instructions on each packet are followed to a T, many environmental variables come into play and influence the growth of seedlings. Heat, light and nutrition all affect the rate and quality of growth reflected in seedlings.

When seedlings become too tall, the gardener may have two choices. One option is to pinch the top leaves of the seedling. Pinching off the growing point of any plant will encourage bushiness. With young plants, the amount of plant material pinched depends on the height of the seedlings. If you have a baby’s breath seedling that is 2 feet tall, it would be wise to trim off 6 inches to 1 foot of plant material before setting it out. On the other hand, if you have snapdragons that are 12 inches tall, pinching the top inch or 2 would likely be sufficient.

Another alternative for annual seedlings is to plant them deeper than you would ordinarily. Again, the height of the plant will affect the increase in depth. Any tomato seedling over 15 inches tall, for example, could have at least one-third of its stem below ground.

Strip the leaves from the stem, dig a deep hole and plant as you would otherwise. Know that most annuals have the ability to produce adventitious roots along their stems. You often may see tomatoes, nasturtiums, ageratum and a host of other seedlings that have visible, bumpy white or cream-colored protrusions – immature roots – along the stem. Once buried, these roots reach out into the soil and provide stability and nutrient-capturing ability to the plant.

Alternatively, some gardeners use the practice of “trenching” rather than deep planting to reduce wind damage and to promote the development of additional roots along the stem. Here’s how it works: Let’s assume your seedlings are growing in 2-by-2-inch pots. Dig a shallow trench about 4 inches deep and 3 inches wide. Place the seedlings in the trench so their stems are parallel with the bottom of the trench. Elevate only the top few inches of the plant out of the trench, and then bury the root mass and stem in shallow soil. This method may be superior to deep planting, in that the existing roots are close to the soil surface, ready to capture rainwater or irrigation.

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, RR1, Box 2120, Montville 04941, or e-mail them to dianagc@midcoast.com. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include name, address and telephone number.