Could you provide some photos of the area? That would help us to direct suggestions better. 

Do you have wildlife issues like deer or rabbits that you contend with? 

We do have a page on groundcovers that may be helpful to explore in the meantime. There are drop down menus that list plants for different site conditions. The one for sunny and drought tolerant may be useful.  For the slope, does it need to be low growing? Could a Gro-Lo fragrant sumac or staghorn sumac that suckers and spreads quickly work as well? Poverty Oats grass might be a viable option.

Clover is not a native plant to the US and while it is wide spread and common and can be a pollen source for bees and insects, it typically dies back in winter and the bare soil would still be exposed for winter rains. There could be another ground cover or a mix that would work well for your situation. A photo so we can see the tree roots would be helpful. Does the area need to be able to handle foot traffic or pet traffic? 

Please attach any photos to this response and let us know if you have problems. 

Emily 

Hi Emily:

I’d like to focus on my second concern - the flat, tree-covered area.  I’ve included a picture.  Do I need to prep the area before planting with ground cover or can I lay seed on it after scratching the surface?   

I do see the section on your website about ground cover and will pull additional, relevant information from it.   

There’s little foot traffic, but I plan to make a simple path through the area.   

I deeply appreciate your insights.

Whatever plant you choose for this space, you will likely have more success with planting plugs, or small sized plants than with seed. The soil compaction or competition with the roots will make it difficult to have seed take. You can get plugs in multiple quantities and space them accordingly. Usually about 12 inches in between each is a good rule of thumb to help get plants to fill in an area quickly and stabilize soil. You could also lay some burlap or weed paper down and plant into holes of those to help with any washout with heavy rains (as we move into hurricane/tropical store season more). 

For amending the soil, you may want to gently rake in some compost to the planting area to help add some nutrients depending on the plant(s) you choose and the soil requirements. You can also gently dig or scrape off any existing clumps of turf grass. You just don't want to smother the existing tree roots so keep the depth of amendments or any burlap/paper weed cloth/ then mulch to a light cover, about 3 inches maximum would be good.

Also if you think it gets more than 4 hours of hot sun in the afternoon then you might choose more of a sun loving ground cover but if you think it is only a little afternoon sun most likely a shade type plant would thrive more. 

You could look into Carex species (maybe Carex pensylcanicum or C. radiata) to help spread through the area. (Check out the Mt Cuba Carex species study for different options and then you can search around for availability) Also a woodland aster (Eurybia divaricata) maybe nice to mix throughout as they spread and reseed easily (can be somewhat weedy but easy to pull in unwanted areas).White wood asters are great for late season pollinators too. Both are listed on our groundcover page that I sent before. 

Finding a variety of plugs is getting to be easier but you can as at your local nursery or garden center. If they can't order a bulk quantity you could search online as well. If an online nursery pops up but is listed as wholesale only, you could still reach out to check if they would sell you a minimum order or would provide an order if you are willing to pick it up. 

If you still want to try to use seed instead, just follow any stratification guidelines on the seed species and make sure to keep the area moist to get the seed to take. Some species may need to be cold stratified which would mean sowing in the fall and having them emerge in the spring. In that case using something to cover the bare soil would be beneficial. 

Let us know if you have further questions. 

Emily

You are most welcome! Happy Planting!