How to Identify a Plant Ground Cover

Identifying On Your Own

• 1

  Go to your local library or a bookstore that has a gardening section.

• 2

  Use the keyword "ground cover" or "garden" in the library computer to find books that might have photos or drawings of groundcovers.

• 3

  Search in the books for images of a ground cover similar to the one in question. Look at the photo captions for either a common name or a botanical name. Write it down.

• 4

  Search the book index for the name of the plant and confirm with additional photos or description in text that the plant indeed resembles the ground cover needing identification.

Identifying By Professional

• 5

  Cut off a leaf and stem of the ground cover plant.

• 6

  Take the plant sample to a local plant nursery and ask a clerk for help to identify it.

• 7

  Take the plant sample, if you still aren't sure what it is, to a Cooperative Extension Office and asking a horticultural specialist to identify it.

Identifying Online

• 8

  Take photos of the ground cover, a broad landscape view and a close-up of the plant.

• 9

  Upload the photos to a computer and publish them to a website so others can see them. There are many photo-hosting websites where you can create an album or post and list photos individually (for example, Facebook and Webshots).

• 10

  Create a caption that states you are seeking the plant's identification.

• 11

  Visit a garden question forum and post your photo or a link to your photo. Check back frequently once your post is published on the forum to see what comments gardeners have made.