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.
Plant library · Spacing charts
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). Click any column heading to sort.
| 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 | 5–9 | 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 | 3–9 | 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 size and hardiness ranges are catalog values and shift with cultivar and local conditions.
How to use this chart
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.