8 Fast-Growing Ground Covers That Will Keep Weeds Away, Experts Say

Ground covers are the gift that keeps on giving. These low-maintenance plants add color and texture to your garden, but they'll also prevent erosion and will help soil retain its moisture. Best of all, many ground covers are excellent at suppressing weeds so you won't have to spend your Sunday afternoons pulling them up by hand.

Layering these beneficial plants into your garden is very easy, too, as there are many varieties that grow very quickly. To help you get started, we asked gardening experts which ground covers they recommend for weed control—and that will reach maturity in no time.

Bigroot geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum) is a quiet garden all-star. It produces subtle pink and white blooms, but it's the low-maintenance nature of this plant that really makes it shine.

Niki Jabbour, founder of Savvy Gardening, notes that you'll have to water it deeply every few weeks during its first growing season, but after that, it's very drought tolerant. You won't have to pay much attention to it at all.

"The dense foliage and root growth reduces weeds," she says. "When planted 12 to 18 inches apart, it grows into a solid carpet in just a year or two."

• Zones: 4 to 9
• Size: 12 to 15 inches high x 18 inches wide
• Care requirements: Full sun to part shade; well-draining soil
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Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is native to North America.

This elegant vine grows very rapidly, Jabbour notes. It can grow 15 to 20 feet a year and will mature at 40 to 50 feet—so it can take up quite a bit of space in your garden. "Use it to create a 1-foot tall blanket of green, covering up stumps, large rocks, and other eyesores," she says.

• Zones: 4 to 8
• Size: 15 to 20 feet tall x 15 to 20 feet wide
• Care requirements: full sun to partial shade; moist, well-draining soil
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 Frogfruit (Phyla) can grow 3 to 4 feet in a single growing season. An elegant ground cover, it produces beautiful, pinkish-white blooms. It's also a larval host plant for several butterfly species, says Mary Phillips, head of native plant habitat strategy at the National Wildlife Federation.

It's easy to care for and very drought tolerant once established. It will fill in gaps in your garden and prevent weeds from taking root.

• Zone: 7 to 11
• Size: 3 to 6 inches tall, 12 inch spread
• Care requirements: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained, sandy or loamy soil

• Wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) produces elegant white flowers in spring, says Phillips, as well as small, edible red fruits. The latter will attract birds and other wildlife.

  "It spreads vigorously by runners, forming new plants and creating a dense, interconnected mat of vegetation and roots," she says. "The dense foliage shades the soil, preventing weed seeds from germinating."

  It will grow very quickly, but place plugs 12 to 18 inches apart for best coverage. Wild strawberry requires very little upkeep.

  • Zones: 3 to 8
  • Size: 6 to 12 inches tall x 1 to 2 feet wide
  • Care requirements: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained, loamy soil
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