ground cover plants for sandy soil
Struggling to find the right ground cover plants for sandy soil in your New Zealand garden? Sandy soil poses unique challenges, such as poor water retention and low nutrients, but with the right selection, you can easily enjoy a lush, low-maintenance landscape. Ground cover plants adapted to dry, sandy conditions not only help prevent erosion—they also suppress weeds and add year-round beauty. Whether you’re looking for silver foliage, vibrant flowers, or hardy, creeping habits, several standout species are perfectly suited for sandy areas.
Coprosma acerosa
Coprosma acerosa, also known as Sand Coprosma or Tātaraheke, is a hardy New Zealand native groundcover well-suited to exposed and coastal environments. It features dense, tangled, prostrate growth with delicate, needle-like foliage in shades of green to bronze. This tough plant is excellent for erosion control, dune stabilisation, and low-maintenance landscaping. It thrives in sandy, free-draining soils and tolerates wind, salt spray, and drought once established, making it an ideal choice for native, coastal, or dry gardens.
From $14.78
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
