ground cover plants for hot dry areas
Looking for ground cover plants for hot dry areas in New Zealand? You’re not alone. Exposed slopes, sun-soaked driveways, and sandy soils are common challenges for Kiwi gardeners. Luckily, the right groundcover choices can create low-maintenance, drought-tolerant carpets of green (and even silver or blue) in the toughest spots. In this guide, we’ll introduce several top-performing ground cover plants for hot dry areas, along with tips on how to establish and care for them in your garden.
Muehlenbeckia complexa (Pohuehue)
Muehlenbeckia complexa (Pohuehue) is a vigorous, hardy NZ native climber or groundcover. It features wiry, twining stems and small, glossy green leaves that create dense coverage. Growing up to 4 m wide and 2 m high, it’s perfect for fences, banks, or walls. Pohuehue tolerates wind, salt spray, and dry conditions once established. Small, white flowers are followed by black berries, attracting birds and making it an excellent choice for both erosion control and biodiversity.
From $20.18
Helichrysum petiolare (Licorice Plant)
Helichrysum petiolare, commonly known as the Licorice plant, is a popular, evergreen shrub that is often used as a groundcover. It produces long stems that host small and rounded, grey-silver leaves. The leaves are complemented with cream-coloured flowers in summer as it grows to 50 cm tall and 1.5 m wide. Helichrysum petiolare is commonly included in rock and cottage gardens, used in border plantings, maintained in a container, planted around outdoor living areas such as pools and the like, or mass planted as a groundcover on a bank.
From $24.23
