Ground cover for tropical effect in Arizona

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One of the best ways to achieve a tropical effect is to use a plant that forms a nice low cover on the ground. Here at The Tropical Paradise, I have tried many over the years, and most have failed, but this ajuga reptans is doing great. But there are some tricks to help it grow.

• It needs shade. It would be nice, but you can't plant this in full sun in the Phoenix, Arizona area. At best it just sits there looking at you, and at worst it just dies. So find an area with some shade.

• It needs rich soil and lots of water. I dug down deep into this area and backfilled it with a lot of premium-quality potting soil, the type that includes moisture crystals, which helps to retain water. I also added a generous amount of moisture crystals. Also mixed in is coffee grounds from Starbucks and Seattle's best.

• Cut the flowers off as soon as you see them. The flowers are nice, but they rob the plant from the ability to make more foliage, which is really what you want in a ground cover.

• It needs to be fed. I punch in those inexpensive house plant spikes every once in a while, and also give it a good spray of Miracle Gro a few times a year, along with everything else.

And the really good news about this plant is that it has survived some of the harshest cold that we have had here. Many other ground covers that I have tried have died from frost.

Once it gets going, it spreads. All of this started from one tiny 4" plant!

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