Ground cover spacing chart

Center-to-center spacing for 25 ground covers, with mature spread, hardiness zones, and sun needs. For ground cover more than any other category, spacing is a straight trade between plant count and how long you wait for coverage.

Spacing across this chart runs from 6 inches (15 cm) to 2.5 ft (75 cm). Sort by any column heading.

Groundcovers — 25 plants, center-to-center spacing
Plant	Spacing	Mature size	USDA zones	Sun
Asiatic JasmineTrachelospermum asiaticum	18 inches45 cm	1 ft tall, 3 ft wide	7–10	Partial Sun
AubrietaAubrieta deltoidea	12 inches30 cm	0.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide	4–9	Full Sun
Barren StrawberryWaldsteinia ternata	12 inches30 cm	0.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide	4–8	Partial Shade
Basket-of-GoldAurinia saxatilis	15 inches40 cm	0.75 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide	3–7	Full Sun
BearberryArctostaphylos uva-ursi	2.5 ft75 cm	0.75 ft tall, 3 ft wide	2–7	Full Sun
Bishop's WeedAegopodium podagraria	18 inches45 cm	1 ft tall, 3 ft wide	3–9	Partial Shade
Blue Star CreeperIsotoma fluviatilis	12 inches30 cm	0.25 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide	5–9	Partial Sun
Creeping JennyLysimachia nummularia	12 inches30 cm	0.25 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide	3–9	Partial Sun
Creeping MyrtleVinca minor	18 inches45 cm	0.5 ft tall, 3 ft wide	4–8	Partial Shade
Creeping RaspberryRubus calycinoides	2 ft60 cm	0.25 ft tall, 3 ft wide	6–9	Full Sun
Creeping ThymeThymus praecox	12 inches30 cm	0.25 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide	4–9	Full Sun
Creeping Wire VineMuehlenbeckia axillaris	18 inches45 cm	0.25 ft tall, 2 ft wide	7–10	Full Sun
Golden StarChrysogonum virginianum	12 inches30 cm	0.75 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide	5–9	Partial Shade
Ice PlantDelosperma spp.	18 inches45 cm	0.5 ft tall, 2 ft wide	—	Full Sun
Irish MossSagina subulata	9 inches23 cm	0.25 ft tall, 1 ft wide	4–8	Partial Sun
Lily of the ValleyConvallaria majalis	9 inches23 cm	0.75 ft tall, 1 ft wide	3–8	Full Shade
LiriopeLiriope spicata	18 inches45 cm	1 ft tall, 2 ft wide	4–10	Partial Shade
Mondo GrassOphiopogon japonicus	9 inches23 cm	0.75 ft tall, 1 ft wide	6–10	Partial Shade
PachysandraPachysandra terminalis	12 inches30 cm	0.75 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide	5–9	Full Shade
Plumbago GroundcoverCeratostigma plumbaginoides	15 inches40 cm	1 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide	5–9	Partial Sun
Snow-in-SummerCerastium tomentosum	18 inches45 cm	0.5 ft tall, 2 ft wide	3–7	Full Sun
Spotted DeadnettleLamium maculatum	18 inches45 cm	0.75 ft tall, 2 ft wide	4–8	Partial Shade
Stonecrop SedumSedum spp.	12 inches30 cm	0.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide	—	Full Sun
White CloverTrifolium repens	6 inches15 cm	0.5 ft tall, 1 ft wide	3–10	Full Sun
Wild GingerAsarum canadense	12 inches30 cm	0.5 ft tall, 1 ft wide	3–8	Full Shade

Spacing is center to center — measure between planting holes, not between the edges of the plants. Mature sizes are planning estimates and shift with cultivar and local conditions. Hardiness is shown only for non-annual, species-level entries.

How to use this chart

Ground cover spacing is a budget decision as much as a horticultural one. The plants will close the ground at almost any spacing inside a sensible range; what changes is whether that takes one season or four, and how many plants you buy to get there. Halving the spacing roughly quadruples the plant count.

Stagger the plants rather than setting them on a square grid. A triangular or offset layout at the same spacing covers ground noticeably faster and leaves fewer visible lines while the planting fills in — it is free coverage for no extra plants.

Weeds are the reason to err tight. Bare ground between young ground cover plants is weeded ground until the canopy closes, and a wide planting that takes four years to knit is four years of weeding. Mulching between plants at planting buys most of that back.

Ground cover spacing chart

How to use this chart

Spacing charts by category