The Diversity and Landscape Application of Woody Ground Cover Plants in China

The characteristics and selection criteria of woody ground cover plants were discussed. Their diversity of species and types in China were analyzed; the current status and the problems existing in the using were reviewed. The criteria for woody ground cover plants were summarized as, low height, easy ramifying, strong adaptability, easy propagating, and good colony expressive force. There are abundant woody ground cover plants resources, including creeping shrubs, low shrubs, low bamboos and woody climbers in China, but only a few species are used in landscaping, and it is short of researches in biological characteristics and landscaping design. Forty species of woody ground cover plants and their ecological habits, ornamental value and landscaping were introduced.