Question
Hi there -

We live on the western edge of Wisconsin. Our backyard is full of 50+ ft. pine trees that drop their needles all year round. We use the pine needles as groundcover because nothing else (grass, etc.) will grow and we need to keep the soil down!!! Do you know of anything that will grow under pine trees and can be used as groundcover for large areas of yard?

Answer
Hi Lisa;
You have brought up a point that i don't know about, bt may be a factor.
shade I know how to deal with, but some trees do different things to the soil under them, and I don't know about pine trees.
For instance do they add acid to the soil? I don't know that, and it may be that they do and it would allow some plants to grow but not others.
There are all kinds of ground covers that love shade now. some of them even have delicate, gorgeous blooms, and of course there are always the ferns. I love my ferns.
There are a number of flowering shrubs that like shade. Astilbe is gorgeous, I think, and comes in a variety of colors.
Go the the National Gardening Association's website and look up ground covers. you can see the pictures of them, and they say what zones they are suited for. You can check out everything with their zone map.
The address is   www.garden.org
Charlotte