Under the crowns of mature trees, even grass often does not thrive due to aggressive roots and dense shade. Skornice is a perennial that can create a thick carpet in these inhospitable conditions and can handle the so-called dry shade, where most plants fail. Haven’t heard of her yet? So it’s about time…
The sad sight of smothered earth under mature trees, where neither grass nor ordinary annuals thrive, is not at all something we would like to see in our garden. In the fight for moisture and nutrients, tree roots are very aggressive neighbors who leave almost nothing to other plants – and the dense shade then completes the work of destruction. But there is one inconspicuous, but incredibly tenacious perennial named skornica, which in these inhospitable conditions can create a dense and impenetrable carpet full of delicate flowers.
Do you want a worry-free sustainable garden? Then don’t forget about the gorse, which is also shown in the YouTube video from the Encyclopedia of plants:
A fighter who doesn’t give up
The resilience of this combative and unyielding plant is renowned in the garden world, and although it seems incredibly fragile, it is actually one of the best choices for so-called dry shade, where most other plants would have long since given up their fight for life. What makes it so interesting and why does it tolerate such inhospitable conditions much better than its other green “colleagues”?
They settle for a minimum of moisture
Skornice (Latin Epimedium) impresses at first glance with its heart-shaped leaves, which change color depending on the season: from bronze tones in spring to deep red in autumn. It is the leaves that are its greatest weapon, because once they are connected to a continuous growth, they do not let almost any light to the ground. In contrast to many other ground cover species, the sedge does not drain water too deeply for the trees, but can be satisfied with the minimum moisture offered by the top layer of the soil. Its unpretentiousness makes it an ideal adept for occupying a “work place” under the trees – you plant it and it will basically take care of order and decoration in the entrusted space by itself.
Beautiful, but unyielding
When choosing the right boxwood for our garden, we come across an abundance of colors, from bright yellow to soft pink to purple, with flower shapes reminiscent of tiny orchids or leprechaun hats. For example, large-flowered or alpine sedums are very popular, and they stand out precisely because of their ability to quickly create a compact and aesthetically very good undergrowth. Even though they grow rather slowly, their rhizomes are tenacious and over time they form such a dense network that even the most persistent weed has no chance of breaking through it, which would perhaps want to take it from the remnants of water and sunlight that seep through the leaves to the ground.
A single step to caring for your skin
In order for the new inhabitant of the garden to really thrive near the tree trunk, it is enough to treat it with a little humus and regular watering at the beginning, until it builds a sufficiently strong root system. Once established, it becomes a plant that can handle longer without losing its beauty. An interesting tip for growers is the cutting of old leaves in spring, which will allow the delicate flowers to stand out and then clear the way for fresh, young foliage, which will light up even the last dark corner under an old apple or walnut tree. This easy once-a-year care is pretty much all this modest beauty will require from us in exchange for her year-round loyalty.
It’s just the right choice
Having bare ground under the trees or fighting weeds forever is unnecessarily exhausting and just a waste of time. But we can reliably avoid it thanks to the right choice of plants that are naturally suitable for the given place. By including this perennial in the garden, we can easily create a stable ecosystem that protects the earth’s surface from drying out and erosion, and at the same time gives us a glimpse of a piece of unfettered forest nature right at home. Who wouldn’t like such a change?
