A Perennial Plant That'll Help Protect Your Garden From Weeds

Gardeners spend hours working on their yards, but weeds can mess up the looks of things while harming the flowers and plants you work so hard to raise. You can help prevent weeds from growing in your garden at all by planting a good, hardy ground cover. A great choice to consider is an evergreen perennial called pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia). This easy-to-grow plant sports abundant leaves of gray-green and little 'cats paw' flowers that give the plant its name. Pussytoes are ideal as ground cover, colonizing rapidly by sending out runners. One plant spreads into broad, layered clusters that can look great in rock gardens, along pathways, and on hills and slopes. They're also native to much of the United States, which is important if you're interested in attracting a more diverse group of birds and local pollinators.

The reason pussytoe works as a weed suppressant is multifold: It's a dense, multi-layered plant that spreads across areas where other plants don't grow. Once established, it prevents weeds from receiving adequate light, water, and soil nutrients, choking them off. Because it's an evergreen, it does this heavy lifting when weed seed is trying to germinate and break through. And it blocks whatever was already growing the previous season.

If your plant hardiness zone is anywhere in regions 3 through 9, you will find pussytoes thrive, though in cooler climes, the basal leaves might die off to return the next season. Its natural habitat includes open woods, hills, meadows, and indry pastures, but it also grows in poor soil, rocky crags, and even as desert landscaping in the right conditions. If you are starting from seed, consider starting the seeds indoors before spring even begins, which is great news for gardeners itching for spring to come.

To plant pussytoe, look for spots containing well-draining soil that receives dappled sun, or full sun for part of the day with light afternoon shade. The plant can handle sandy and rocky soils, making it perfect for adding color and character where your lawn can't. Space individual plants about 2 feet apart to provide complete ground cover. While your pussytoe is getting established as a weed-reducing ground cover, manually remove existing weeds so they don't rob the young plants of important nutrients and water. Once the plants have grown and spread, you will notice fewer weeds wherever ground cover spreads.

Pussytoes are drought-resistant once established, but be sure to water them appropriately during the first year until roots develop fully. Avoid overwatering, as they are susceptible root rot and fungal diseases. One of the best methods for ensuring the soil doesn't get watered too much is to wait until the surface of the soil dries entirely between watering times. In the spring, you can deadhead spent blooms if you want, enhancing the plant and promoting a dense bed of weed-suppressing cover.