The Beautiful Flowering Ground Cover You Should Plant To Keep Pesky Weeds At Bay

Keeping pesky weeds at bay is a problem that every gardener must face and for some, this can involve countless hours of bending down and pulling out those nuisance plants that just continue to flourish no matter how vigilant you are. Fortunately, there are clever ways you can stop those weeds in their tracks and prevent them from taking over your garden beds. While mulching is popular and successful, planting dense ground covers can also be a great way to make your garden more low-maintenance and provide beauty at the same time. So, if you're fed up with your constant weeding chores, there's one beautiful flowering ground cover you should consider planting if you live in USDA Hardiness Zones 6 through 9: the outstanding, low growing azalea known as Rhododendron nakaharai.

While there are plenty of different types of azaleas you can grow in your garden, this absolutely stunning evergreen variety only grows to a height of 1 foot, and its lovely dense growth habit will effectively shade the soil beneath and stop those weeds from coming through in the first place. If you mass plant this azalea, not only will your garden beds remain weed-free, but you'll also end up with the most magical carpet of color when these plants come into flower in summer. Even when not in bloom, these azaleas are still quite attractive with their shiny, dark green, hair-covered leaves that totally cover the branches.

For effective weed suppression, you'll want to plant this ground cover azalea en masse, spacing your plants around 1 to 2 feet apart as they can reach a width of around 12 to 24 inches. The best time of year to plant azaleas for stunning blooms is in the fall, although potted plants can be planted almost any time if you give them a little extra care. Ideally, the soil should be on the acidic side and contain a decent amount of organic matter. Moist, well-drained soil is best for these plants, which will grow happily either in full sun or part shade. What you'll love about this variety is that it's very easy to grow and doesn't even need pruning because it grows quite slowly.

While the main species has brick red flowers, there are a number of cultivars available with floral color variations. 'Mariko' has rosy red blooms and won an Award of Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. Another cultivar known as 'Mount Seven Star' is available in shades of pink, magenta, red, and purple. This one grows slightly taller and can reach a height of 2 to 3 feet, with a similar width. Finally, you'll want to know the best method for fertilizing your azaleas so you get the most magnificent blooms all summer long.