The Best Plant for Smothering Weeds

Ground Covers for Sun

• If your planting site receives direct sunlight for six hours or more each day, choose plants that thrive in full sun exposures. Choices include bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), a North American native that grows to 6 inches tall and 3 feet wide. This evergreen has red stems and lustrous, dark foliage, offset by white summer flowers and long-lasting red berries. Bearberry is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 to 6 and prefers poor, dry soil. Another evergreen, the "Angelina" creeping sedum or stone opine (Sedum rupestre "Angelina") rapidly forms a mat of bright, yellow-green foliage. Reaching heights to 6 inches and spreading up to 3 feet, this cultivar contrasts nicely with green-foliaged plants and is hardy in USDA zones 6 to 9.

Ground Covers for Shade

• In sites that receive fewer than six hours of sun each day or a constant, dappled pattern of sun and shade, choose shade-tolerant plants. Good varieties for weed-prevention include English ivy (Hedera helix). Though it grows as a vine when supported, it also grows prostrate as a densely foliaged ground cover. English ivy is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 11 and grows well in partial shade and rich, moist soil. It comes in a range of colors and leaf sizes. Liriope (Liriope muscari) also grows in shade. This grasslike perennial forms dense clumps of foliage and blooms with purple flowers in fall. Hardy in USDA zones 6 to 10, this 12-inch-tall plant spreads to 3 feet wide and prefers well-draining, acidic soil.

Shrubs for Sun

• Shrubs that thrive in sunny sites and prevent weed growth when planted in mass include the Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica), a 5-foot-tall deciduous shrub with a 6-foot spread. Its white spring flowers attract bees and butterflies, and its foliage turns gold, red and orange in fall. It thrives in a variety of soil types and is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9. A sun-loving evergreen, the bird's nest spruce (Picea abies "Nidiformis") grows in dense mounds of gray-green needles; a round indentation in the center of each shrub leads to the name "bird's nest." This dwarf conifer grows to 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide and is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 7.

Shrubs for Shade

• Weed-conquering shrubs that thrive in shady sites include the "Hummingbird" summersweet (Clethra alnifolia "Hummingbird"), a compact cultivar that grows to 3 feet tall. This deciduous shrub grows in partial or dappled shade in USDA zones 3 to 9. Its white flower spikes release a spicy scent in midsummer The "Vardar Valley" boxwood (Buxus sempervirens "Vardar Valley") grows in partial shade in USDA zones 5 to 8. Reaching heights of 3 feet, this 5-foot-wide evergreen has dense, blue-green foliage and blooms with fragrant flowers in spring.