24 Beautiful Fast Growing Ground Cover Plants

Ralph Astley is a retired gardener from Philadelphia who specializes in outdoor plants and trees. With years of hands-on experience, Ralph not only cares for a diverse range of outdoor flora but also shares his extensive knowledge through well-written articles and social media posts. A trusted authority in arboriculture, he's committed to helping the community grow healthier, more robust gardens.
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Check out the list of the best Fast Growing Ground Cover Plants that provide quick coverage for your outdoor spaces.

If you’re looking to quickly fill in empty spaces and add vibrancy to your garden, these Fast Growing Ground Cover Plants are the perfect solution. These resilient plants spread rapidly, creating lush carpets of green in no time!

Check out the 48 Best Flowering Ground Cover Plants here


Fast Growing Ground Cover Plants

1. Mexican Daisy

Botanical Name: Erigeron karvinskianus

USDA Zones: 6-9

First on the list of fast-growing ground cover plants, Mexican fleabane effortlessly grows in crevices of rocks, walls, steps, and garden paths. It thrives in dry conditions.

2. Bugleweed

Botanical Name: Ajuga reptans

USDA Zones: 4-10

This evergreen creeping perennial is a great choice for shady areas at the front of borders. Its colorful, textured foliage in aubergine color forms a beautiful mat-like ground cover.

3. Sedum

Botanical Name: Sedum ‘stonecorp’

USDA Zones: 4-9

Sedum mats are excellent for green roofs, dry gravel gardens, and walls, as they create a lush foliage carpet while suppressing weeds and attracting wildlife.

4. Lamium Flowers

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Botanical Name: Lamium maculatum

USDA Zones: 3-8

The next on the list of fast growing ground cover plants is Lamium. It is a fast-spreading plant that can quickly fill a space of 40 square feet or more within a year.

5. Asiatic Star Jasmine

Botanical Name: Trachelospermum jasminoides

USDA Zones: 7b-10

Ideal for warm climates, this fast-growing ground cover offers stunning, dense, evergreen foliage that fills the ground. It serves as an excellent option to cover bare spots.

Check 18 Best Edible Ground Cover Plants here

6. Herbaceous Clematis

Botanical Name: Clematis – Viticella Group

USDA Zones: 4-11

Herbaceous Clematis is a fast-growing ground cover that adds a stunning touch to any landscape. It quickly spreads and fills empty spaces with a burst of vibrant colors.

7. Rockcress

Botanical Name: Aubretia

USDA Zones: 6-8

Aubretia is a fast-growing ground cover that brings a cascade of vibrant colors to gardens and landscapes. This hardy perennial thrives in full sun and well-draining soil.

8. Sweet Woodruff

Botanical Name: Gallium odoratum

USDA Zones: 4-9

Sweet Woodruff is a fast-growing ground cover that spreads rapidly to create a lush carpet of foliage. Its delicate white flowers and fragrant leaves add charm to shady areas.

9. Blue Plumbago

Botanical Name: Ceratostigma plumbaginoides

USDA Zones: 5-9

This versatile plant is ideal for the seasonal transition, featuring blue flowers at the end of summer and fiery-colored foliage in fall. Notably, it attracts butterflies and bees.

Check out the Best Walkable Ground Covers here

10. Caraway Thyme

Botanical Name: Thymus herba-barona

USDA Zones: 4-9

Caraway Thyme is a versatile, fast-growing ground cover, ideal for both ornamental groundcover and culinary herb purposes.

11. Bunchberry

Botanical Name: Cornus canadensis

USDA Zones: 2-7

This little ground cover grows up to 8 inches at maturity. It spreads by underground rhizomes; this fast-growing groundcover produces 4-7 leaves on each woody stems.

12. Creeping Mazus

Botanical Name: Mazus reptans

USDA Zones: 5-8

Mazus reptans is a resilient perennial plant that thrives as a ground cover in USDA zones 5 to 8. It exhibits rapid growth, creating lush carpet-like foliage.

13. Ground Elder

Botanical Name: Aegopodium podagraria

USDA Zones: 3-8

It is a rapidly spreading plant that excels at creating a dense ground cover in areas with partial or full shade. It also grows small white flowers!

14. Trailing Periwinkle

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Botanical Name: Vinca minor

USDA Zones: 7-9

With its vigorous growth pattern, this fast-growing ground cover can become an invasive ground cover plant. It creates a lush carpet of glossy green leaves in no time!

15. Fern Moss

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Botanical Name: Thuidium delicatulum

USDA Zones: 5-9

Fern moss is a rapidly growing evergreen ground cover that stays close to the ground. It has the remarkable ability to double its surface area in less than a year.

16. Japanese Spurge

Botanical Name: Pachysandra terminalis

USDA Zones: 4-8

These dwarf shrubs exhibit an average to fast growth rate and thrive in partially shaded areas, requiring acidic soils.

Check the 22 Best Groundcovers With Purple Flowers here

17. Wintercreeper

Botanical Name: Euonymus fortunei

USDA Zones: 5a-9a

This fast-growing ground cover can assume various forms, serving as a shrub, vine, or ground cover, with its size being variable.

18. Creeping Wire Vine

Little Prince of Oregon Nursery

Botanical Name: Muehlenbeckia axillaris

USDA Zones: 7-10

The creeping wire vine is a resilient plant that hugs the ground and boasts abundant foliage. Perfect for ground coverage, the creeping wire vine flourishes in areas with full sun.

19. Crown Vetch

Botanical Name: Securigera varia

USDA Zones: 3-9

The crown vetch, also known as the “crown vetch weed,” is a fast-spreading trailing plant. It is an ideal choice for covering extensive patches of uneven soil.

20. English Ivy

Botanical Name: Hedera helix

USDA Zones: 4-13

English ivy, a fast-growing ground cover, is widely used for slopes due to its aggressive nature. It is commonly used to cover walls, fences, or expansive areas.

Check out 16 Ground Covers that Become Excellent Houseplants here

21. Creeping Jenny

Botanical Name: Lysimachia nummularia

USDA Zones: 4-9

With their rapid growth, these fast-growing ground cover will quickly fill in the space, reaching a height of 4 to 8 inches.

22. Irish Moss

Botanical Name: Sagina subulata

USDA Zones: 4-8

Last on the list of fast-growing ground cover is Irish moss. It is known for its rapid growth and impressive spreading capability, often extending several feet within a short time span.

23. Wedelia

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Botanical Name: Wedelia

USDA Zones: 7-11

Wedelia is a low-growing perennial plant that forms a dense mat of trailing stems. The leaves are typically bright green, but some varieties may have variegated foliage.

24. Lantana

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Botanical Name: Lantana camara

USDA Zones: 7-11

Lantana is a low-growing perennial plant with trailing or mounding growth habits. It produces clusters of small, tubular flowers that are highly attractive to butterflies and other pollinators.

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