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A good ground cover should solve a problem, not become the next one. It should hold soil, shade out weeds, look intentional, and stay where a homeowner can manage it. The trouble is that several of the most common “easy” ground covers do the opposite. They creep into lawns, climb trees, root from broken stems, spread through dumped yard waste, and turn a small planting decision into a multi-season removal project.
On our job sites, we look at ground covers the same way we look at drainage, grading, and hardscape edges: what will this do three, five, and ten years from now? A plant that fills a bare slope in one season may also move under a fence, into a drainage swale, or up a mature oak. Once that happens, the cost is no longer a flat of plants and a Saturday afternoon. It can become repeated hand removal, disposal, mulch, replacement planting, and follow-up visits for two or three years.
The five ground covers below are the ones we would be very cautious about planting, and in many yards we would avoid them completely: English ivy, periwinkle or vinca, wintercreeper euonymus, bishop’s goutweed, and creeping Jenny. Their legal status varies by state and county. Some are still sold in certain areas while restricted or prohibited in others, so always check your state invasive plant list before buying, sharing divisions, or hiring a crew to remove a large patch.
Quick Answer: Avoid These 5 Ground Covers
If you are choosing plants for a new bed, slope, shaded side yard, tree ring, or drainage edge, do not start with these five:
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- Water and Air Permeable: Allows rain, irrigation, and air to pass through while blocking weeds, maintains soil moisture and prevents compaction to support healthy root growth for vegetables, flowers, and fruit trees.
- English ivy (Hedera helix and Hedera hibernica): dense mats, tree climbing, seed production from mature climbing growth, and structural problems on walls and fences.
- Periwinkle or vinca (Vinca minor and Vinca major): shade-tolerant mats that escape beds and crowd woodland seedlings and spring wildflowers.
- Wintercreeper euonymus (Euonymus fortunei): behaves like a ground cover until it climbs, flowers, fruits, and spreads by seed.
- Bishop’s goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria): rhizome-spreading shade plant that is difficult to eradicate once established.
- Creeping Jenny or moneywort (Lysimachia nummularia): trailing stems that root into wet soils, swales, ditches, pond edges, and rain garden margins.
The better decision framework is simple: match the replacement to light, moisture, slope, deer pressure, foot traffic, and region. There is no single native substitute that works everywhere. A dry sunny bank, a moist shaded downspout area, and a deer-heavy woodland edge need different plants.
Why “Low-Maintenance” Ground Covers Become Expensive
Most invasive ground covers win by persistence. They do not need to grow tall to cause trouble. They spread sideways, root at nodes, move by rhizomes, and survive small fragments left in soil. Many also take advantage of disturbed ground, which is exactly what construction, grading, utility work, fence replacement, and drainage correction create.
The most common homeowner mistake is removing the visible leaves and assuming the job is done. With these plants, the visible canopy is only part of the system. Vinca, goutweed, and creeping Jenny often extend beyond the green edge you can see. Ivy and wintercreeper can have rooted stems under the mat and climbing stems on trees or fences. If those vertical vines mature, they can flower and produce seed, which turns one yard’s planting into a neighborhood and natural-area problem.
A practical removal sequence is remove, exhaust, replace. First, remove top growth and as much root or rhizome mass as possible. Second, revisit new shoots before they rebuild energy. Third, install competitive, noninvasive plants close enough to shade the soil. Bare ground is an invitation for the same plant, or another weed, to come back.
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For planning, use a 30/60/90-day inspection schedule after the first removal. Check again in spring and fall for the next two to three years. That schedule sounds excessive until you have seen a bed look clean in April and then fill with new shoots by June because a few rhizomes or rooted stem pieces were left behind.
1. English Ivy
English ivy is the classic example of a ground cover that looks controlled until it is not. It spreads across soil as a thick mat, roots along the stem, climbs trees and structures, and suppresses native seedlings. Once ivy reaches mature climbing growth, it can flower and produce seed, which helps it move beyond the original planting area.
From a property standpoint, ivy creates several problems at once. On trees, heavy vines add weight, hold moisture against bark, and make inspection harder. On masonry, fences, and siding, vines can work into joints, gaps, trim, and deteriorated mortar. We do not treat every ivy-covered wall as an emergency, but we do treat it as a condition that needs inspection before the next exterior repair, paint job, or drainage project.
For removal, prioritize vertical growth first. Cut vines at the base of trees, walls, and fences. Do not pull heavy vines down from tree canopies; that can tear bark or bring dead limbs with them. Cut the vine close to the ground and again several inches above, remove the middle section, and let upper growth die back naturally. After that, work on the ground mat in sections.
For small beds, a homeowner may spend $40 to $250 on gloves, pruners, loppers, a garden fork or mattock, contractor bags, mulch, and replacement plants. A 100 to 300 square foot bed may cost roughly $300 to $900 for professional manual removal and first-pass cleanup, depending on density and access. If ivy is climbing trees, tangled in shrubs, or running along a retaining wall, expect labor to climb quickly because the crew has to work carefully instead of just clearing material.
Legal status is changing in some places. Washington added common ivy to its Prohibited Plant List effective August 9, 2025, making transport, sale, or distribution illegal there. Maryland lists Hedera helix and Hedera hibernica with an effective prohibited invasive date of July 15, 2026 and phase-out dates for inventory. That does not mean ivy is illegal everywhere. It does mean homeowners should check current state and local rules before buying, moving, or disposing of it.
2. Periwinkle or Vinca
Periwinkle is popular because it tolerates shade, stays low, and offers blue-purple flowers. Those same traits make it risky in woodland edges and older neighborhoods where beds connect to natural areas. Vinca minor and Vinca major can form dense mats that crowd out woodland wildflowers and tree seedlings.
The problem with vinca is not that it grows fast like a tall weed. It is that it quietly keeps moving. Stems root as they touch soil, and the patch often extends farther than the leaf canopy suggests. When we remove it around shrubs or tree roots, we assume there are runners beyond the obvious border and dig past the visible edge.
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Vinca is often sold as a shade fix, but shade alone is not enough information to choose a ground cover. Dry shade under a maple, moist shade near a downspout, and filtered shade below a high tree canopy are different sites. Better options may include wild ginger, foamflower, woodland phlox, green-and-gold, golden ragwort, native sedges, partridgeberry, or Allegheny spurge, depending on the region and soil.
Removal usually means hand pulling and lifting rooted runners with a garden fork. Stage pulled material on tarps so pieces do not drop into the lawn or another bed while hauling. Do not till vinca into the soil. Chopping rooted stems into smaller pieces can make follow-up harder.
Expect a small DIY project to take one long afternoon to a full weekend for a 100 to 200 square foot bed, plus follow-up checks. Professional work commonly falls into the same $300 to $900 range for a small urban bed, but costs increase if the vinca is mixed with desirable perennials, tree roots, poison ivy, or ornamental shrubs that must be preserved. For a 500 to 1,000 square foot infestation, removal plus replanting can reach $900 to $3,500 or more.
3. Wintercreeper Euonymus
Wintercreeper euonymus is deceptive because it can behave like two plants. On the ground, it acts like a dense evergreen ground cover. On a tree, fence, or wall, it becomes a climbing vine. That vertical phase matters because climbing growth can flower and seed, spreading the plant farther than ground creep alone.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsIf wintercreeper is already on the property, start with the climbing stems. Cut vines at the base of trees and structures to interrupt the path to flowering and fruiting. That first step reduces future spread while you plan the slower ground removal. As with ivy, do not yank large vines down from trees. Cut, separate, and let upper growth die back.
Ground-level wintercreeper removal is slow because stems root into soil and under leaf litter. Work in lanes, roll back the mat, loosen roots with a fork, and bag viable fragments. If the patch runs into a neighbor’s fence line, coordinate before starting. Clearing only your side may still be worthwhile, but you will need a maintenance edge and regular inspections.
Wintercreeper is a poor choice around new hardscape. It can grow into fence bases, AC pads, steps, and stone joints, making future repairs more tedious. When we are building or repairing exterior features, we prefer to keep aggressive vines away from walls, posts, drainage outlets, and utility penetrations. A 12 to 24 inch clear inspection strip around structures is easier to maintain than a vine mat touching every surface.
4. Bishop’s Goutweed
Bishop’s goutweed, also called snow-on-the-mountain, is often planted because it can cover difficult shade. The variegated form looks tidy at first, but the plant spreads by rhizomes and can revert to more aggressive green growth. Once established, it is one of the more frustrating ground covers to remove because pieces of underground stem can restart the patch.
The key with goutweed is to think beyond the leaf line. Dig outside the visible edge, loosen soil deeply enough to find rhizomes, and sift carefully. If you move soil from that bed to another part of the yard, you may move the plant with it. Avoid composting viable rhizomes unless your local composting system is designed to handle invasive plant material at adequate temperatures.
For homeowners, goutweed removal is usually a multi-round project. A first pass may make the bed look 80 percent better, but the last 20 percent determines whether the plant stays gone. Recheck at 30, 60, and 90 days. Pull new shoots while they are small. If the site is practical, covering the area temporarily after removal can help suppress regrowth while you prepare replacement planting.
Costs depend heavily on whether the plant is in open soil or woven through desirable perennials. In a simple open bed, the labor is mostly digging and disposal. In a mature ornamental bed, the crew may need to lift, divide, clean, and reset keeper plants or recommend sacrificing some plant material to fully remove rhizomes. That is where a “cheap cleanup” becomes a restoration job.
5. Creeping Jenny or Moneywort
Creeping Jenny, also called moneywort, is a low trailing plant with bright green to chartreuse foliage. It is especially risky near water movement: rain gardens, swales, drainage ditches, pond edges, wetlands, stream buffers, and downspout discharge zones. It spreads by trailing stems that root where they touch moist soil.
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The site matters. A small container planting is one thing. A planting bed that receives roof runoff or borders a drainage feature is another. Once creeping Jenny reaches a damp edge, it can move with water, soil disturbance, and stem fragments. For that reason, we would not use it where overflow, erosion, or seasonal wetness can carry pieces off site.
Removal should be careful and contained. Hand pull from the outside in, lift rooted stems, and stage material on tarps. Inspect downstream edges after storms. If the infestation touches a regulated wetland, pond, stream, or critical area buffer, pause before doing heavy work. Local rules may restrict soil disturbance, herbicide use, grading, or vegetation removal near water. In those areas, manual removal and restoration planting should be the first conversation, and larger projects should involve licensed invasive plant professionals familiar with local rules.
State Rules, Permits, and Disposal
Do not assume a plant is legal or illegal based on a national article. Invasive plant rules vary by state, county, watershed district, and nursery regulation. A plant may still be available in one state while prohibited for sale in another. Point-of-sale signage requirements are also changing in some places; for example, Virginia’s 2027 invasive plant signage law will require warnings for certain species including periwinkle and English ivy.
Before buying any aggressive ground cover, ask the nursery for the Latin name, not just the common name. “Ivy,” “spurge,” “lilyturf,” and “periwinkle” can refer to different plants with different risk profiles. The Latin name helps you compare the exact plant against state invasive lists and local extension guidance.
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Disposal matters. Bag viable fragments when practical. Do not dump yard waste in woods, drainage channels, vacant lots, or along roadsides. Do not move contaminated soil to another bed. If your municipality has invasive plant disposal guidance, follow it. If a contractor is hauling material, ask where it goes and whether disposal is included in the price.
Herbicides require caution. The product label is the law, and labels specify where, how, and on what plants a product may be used. Around water, vegetable gardens, pollinator plantings, children’s play areas, and desirable native plants, the margin for error is small. Homeowner-safe planning starts with identification, mapping, cutting climbing vines, manual removal where feasible, bagging viable fragments, monitoring regrowth, and replanting with competitive noninvasive species.
Better Ground Covers by Site Condition
Replacement planting is not a cosmetic afterthought. It is part of invasive control. If you remove a mat of ivy or vinca and leave bare soil, sunlight reaches the surface, weed seeds germinate, and leftover fragments have less competition. In most beds, we want close spacing, mulch, and a plant mix that fills in within one to three growing seasons.
| Site condition | Better options to consider | Practical spacing and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dry sun | Creeping phlox, moss phlox, wild strawberry, bearberry | Use 12 to 18 inch spacing for plugs or small pots where quick coverage matters. Bearberry prefers lean, well-drained soil. |
| Moist sun | Golden ragwort, native sedges, wild strawberry | Good for open beds that receive roof runoff but do not stay saturated. Keep mulch light around crowns. |
| Dry shade | Wild ginger, Allegheny spurge, native sedges | Expect slower fill under mature trees. Avoid deep soil disturbance near major roots. |
| Moist shade | Foamflower, woodland phlox, golden ragwort, partridgeberry | Useful for shaded foundation edges and woodland borders where soil moisture is steady. |
| Slope or erosion area | Native sedges, bearberry, creeping phlox, mixed plugs with mulch blankets where needed | Use tighter spacing, erosion-control mulch, and temporary stabilization on steeper slopes. |
| Deer-heavy yard | Native sedges, wild ginger, Allegheny spurge, selected regional natives | No plant is deer-proof. Protect new plugs for the first season if browsing pressure is high. |
Budget roughly $2 to $12 per square foot for simpler replacement planting with plugs, mulch, compost, edging adjustments, and labor. Higher-end native planting plans, irrigation changes, slope stabilization, or designer involvement can push costs above that. Material choices matter: plugs at $3 to $12 each are economical for larger areas, while quart and gallon plants at $8 to $25 or more each create faster visual impact but raise the installed cost.
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Invasive ground cover removal is usually priced by time, density, access, disposal, and follow-up, not by a clean square-foot formula. National landscaping labor in 2026 commonly runs about $50 to $100 per hour for a two-person crew, or roughly $25 to $50 per person-hour. Some national service data places landscaping around $50 to $65 per hour, but invasive removal can run higher when crews are hand-digging roots, cutting vines off trees, preserving desirable plants, or hauling bagged material.
| Project size | Typical 2026 cost range | What is usually included |
|---|---|---|
| Small DIY bed, under 200 sq ft | $40 to $250 in supplies | Gloves, pruners, loppers, fork or mattock, bags, mulch, and starter replacement plants if tools are already owned. |
| Small professional cleanup, 100-300 sq ft | $300 to $900 | Manual first-pass removal, cutting accessible vines, bagging, basic cleanup, and sometimes mulch. |
| Medium infestation, 500-1,000 sq ft | $900 to $3,500+ | Repeated visits, root or rhizome removal, hauling, bed preparation, mulch, and replacement planting. |
| Restoration-level work | $4.50 to $12 per sq ft, with major tear-outs potentially much higher | Removal plus soil repair, planting design, edging, mulch, irrigation adjustments, and slope or drainage coordination. |
Brush removal benchmarks can be misleading. Light brush clearing may be priced by the acre, while dense invasive vines in ornamental beds are slow hand work. A crew can clear open brush quickly with equipment. They cannot use the same approach when ivy is wrapped around shrubs, goutweed rhizomes are mixed through perennials, or creeping Jenny is running along a water edge.
The biggest cost drivers are patch size, root depth, soil compaction, slope, access, disposal fees, poison ivy or thorny plants mixed into the bed, vines climbing trees or buildings, and whether the contract includes follow-up visits and replacement planting. A low bid that only removes visible top growth may look attractive, but it often leaves the expensive part for later.
When to DIY and When to Hire a Pro
DIY removal makes sense when the patch is small, accessible, away from water, not climbing high into trees, and not mixed heavily with desirable plants. A homeowner with gloves, sharp pruners, loppers, a fork, contractor bags, and patience can make real progress on a 100 to 200 square foot bed. Work in sections no larger than you can finish and clean up the same day. Use tarps. Bag viable fragments. Mulch and replant promptly.
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Hire a professional when the infestation covers several hundred square feet, climbs mature trees or structures, touches drainage features or regulated buffers, includes poison ivy, sits on a steep slope, or needs selective removal around valuable plantings. Also hire help if the project requires hauling large volumes of material or if you need the bed replanted immediately to prevent erosion.
Before hiring, ask direct questions. Is the company licensed and insured? Will they identify the plant by Latin name? Will they cut climbing vines first? How will they prevent fragments from spreading during removal? Is disposal included? Will they return for 30/60/90-day follow-ups? What replacement plants will go in, at what spacing, and who maintains watering during establishment?
A good scope of work should name the target plant, define the removal area in square feet, explain disposal, list exclusions, state whether herbicide is used, identify permit-sensitive areas, and include the replacement planting plan. For a medium yard section, the difference between a one-day cleanup and a restoration plan can be thousands of dollars, so the scope needs to be clear before work starts.
Bottom Line
English ivy, periwinkle, wintercreeper, bishop’s goutweed, and creeping Jenny are tempting because they cover ground quickly. That is exactly why they cause problems. They do not respect bed edges, property lines, drainage paths, or natural areas. In the wrong site, they turn low-maintenance landscaping into repeated removal and replanting.
The better approach is to choose the plant after you understand the site. Measure the area. Note sun exposure, soil moisture, slope, deer pressure, drainage, and nearby natural areas. Check your state invasive plant list. Ask for Latin names at the nursery. If you are removing an existing patch, plan for more than one visit and replant densely enough that bare soil does not invite the problem back.
Good ground cover work is not just planting. It is site preparation, containment, inspection, and follow-through. Done right, the bed gets easier to maintain each year instead of becoming a larger bill every spring.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are invasive ground covers illegal everywhere?
No. Legal status varies by state, county, and local rule. Some plants may still be sold in one state while prohibited or restricted in another. Check your state invasive plant list and local extension guidance before buying, sharing, or disposing of these plants.
What is the first thing to do with English ivy or wintercreeper on trees?
Cut the climbing vines at the base of the tree and remove a short section so the upper vine is disconnected from the roots. Do not pull heavy vines down from the canopy, because that can damage bark or dislodge limbs.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteCan I compost invasive ground cover debris?
Usually, it is safer to bag viable stems, roots, and rhizomes unless your local composting program specifically accepts invasive plant material. Many of these plants can spread from fragments moved in compost, soil, or dumped yard waste.
How long does it take to fully remove invasive ground covers?
A first pass may take a day or a weekend for a small bed, but full control often takes two to three growing seasons of monitoring. Inspect at 30, 60, and 90 days after removal, then check again each spring and fall.
What should I plant instead of ivy or vinca?
Choose by site conditions. Options may include wild ginger, green-and-gold, golden ragwort, native sedges, creeping phlox, wild strawberry, partridgeberry, Allegheny spurge, foamflower, woodland phlox, and bearberry, depending on region, light, moisture, deer pressure, and slope.
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