Kurapia - Ask Extension
Does kurapia grow well as ground cover in MD? Is it considered invasive in MD?
Knowledgebase
Kurapia #872335
Asked June 09, 2024, 10:14 PM EDT
Does kurapia grow well as ground cover in MD? Is it considered invasive in MD?
Montgomery County Maryland
Expert Response
The plant you mention is unfamiliar to us by that name, but if it's the species we looked up (botanical name Phyla nodiflora), it is not locally native and might not grow well in our conditions or survive our winters. However, a relative of that species, Lance-leaved Frogfruit (Phyla lanceolata), is native and occurs in multiple counties in Maryland. It might serve as a nice groundcover in sites that match where it grows wild (we've seen it in mostly-sunny areas with damp soil and little competition), but it is not widely available in the nursery trade. We also doubt it would tolerate much in the way of foot traffic, in case this is for planting in an area that will occasionally be walked on.
If you are interested in some ideas for ground-covering species, we recently overhauled our Groundcovers web page to include a variety of native (and a few non-native) options, sorted by site conditions (sun vs. shade, wet vs. dry). It's not an exhaustive list, but it may provide some ideas. It also includes a few native species that might still be hard to find, though fortunately native plant offerings overall are increasing, and if local nurseries don't stock them, online specialty native plant nurseries might.
Miri
If you are interested in some ideas for ground-covering species, we recently overhauled our Groundcovers web page to include a variety of native (and a few non-native) options, sorted by site conditions (sun vs. shade, wet vs. dry). It's not an exhaustive list, but it may provide some ideas. It also includes a few native species that might still be hard to find, though fortunately native plant offerings overall are increasing, and if local nurseries don't stock them, online specialty native plant nurseries might.
Miri