I live in New England (zone 3-4) and have a very steep hill currently
planted in grass (a real pain to mow) that terminates in woodland. I
would like to get rid of the grass and plant either day lilies, or
else some kind of ground-cover that will prevent erosion but need
little maintenance as the hill is almost too steep to walk on. The
area is about 100 yards long by about 15' from the shoulder of the
hill to the woods. The drop is about 10 feet from the shoulder at the
steepest point. Any suggestions about how to do this and what to use
would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

(Bee) wrote in message om...
I live in New England (zone 3-4) and have a very steep hill currently
planted in grass (a real pain to mow) that terminates in woodland. I
would like to get rid of the grass and plant either day lilies, or
else some kind of ground-cover that will prevent erosion but need
little maintenance as the hill is almost too steep to walk on. The
area is about 100 yards long by about 15' from the shoulder of the
hill to the woods. The drop is about 10 feet from the shoulder at the
steepest point. Any suggestions about how to do this and what to use
would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Many steep banks in New England are covered with vinca minor. And I
mean covered - not an inch of visible ground. Much better than daylily
at preventing erosion, IMHO, because of the thick net of above-ground
rhizomes. One question is how shady the area is. If it is part shade,
vinca will propagate relatively quickly. If it is shade, then vinca
will propagate where other plants will fail.
Because you need some 1000 plants at least, you would be better off
looking for a large patch and ask permission to thin it if it belongs
to someone. In certain areas of upstate NY, which I have visited in
the past, I have seen 100 square yards patches of feral vinca, so you
should be able to locate one. Plant in the fall, just after the first
rains.

(simy1) wrote:

Many steep banks in New England are covered with vinca minor. And I
mean covered - not an inch of visible ground. Much better than daylily
at preventing erosion, IMHO, because of the thick net of above-ground
rhizomes. One question is how shady the area is. If it is part shade,
vinca will propagate relatively quickly. If it is shade, then vinca
will propagate where other plants will fail.

If it is sunny, the daylilies will do better. Here in Pennsylvania, the
banks on both sides of our road are covered with day lilies for a couple
miles and it was absolutely gorgous most of July. A landscaper couldn't
have done a better job. Our road side was planted by nature.

We have vinca minor growing in dense shade in the woods behind our home.
It doesn't fill in very solid. It looks nice, but doesn't prevent
erosion. It does keep other plants from coming in. It doesn't spread
beyond the dense shade.

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Thanks! your message and the following message give me great guidance.

(Bee) wrote in message om...
Thanks! your message and the following message give me great guidance.

You can try planting both. Around my home I know where to find large
patches of wild daylily. Like vinca, it is easy to transplant. In part
shade they will probably propagate at similar rates.. as the other
poster noted, vinca will do a better job of eventually eliminating
grass, as long as there is some shade.