Too aggressive ground cover?

Greetings forest gardeners!

I'm hoping someone will be able to answer my question about Ground Ivy/Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea).

Do you think that it would be too aggressive to use as ground cover for apple saplings and other fruit trees?

Thanks so much for your time!

As long as you are willing to cut it like it was a lawn, you should be ok using it.

Any fast growing vine is not the ideal ground cover for fruit trees, they tend to steal nutrients that the trees need.
Grasses are usually used for ground covers because they use different minerals than the trees do and grasses are almost always cut to around 1.5 inches tall and the cuttings mulch the trees.

Redhawk

I have planted pears, arctic kiwi, and plums that seem to coexist fine with that weed.  Your neighbors are more likely to be offended by it than your trees, but it won't help them much either.  Dutch clover is better (very long nectar season, nitrogen fixing, leaves used by livestock and wildlife even though foreign, though produces similarly negligible biomass).  However "creeping Charlie" does seem to grow through wood chip mulches (which trees often like) very well.  If you like Glechoma for tea or somesuch, you might be able to control it in a hanging basket.  If you are thinking the smell of the foliage might deter pests that attack your trees, in my experience the scent protects Glechoma alone.

Erik Barbarosa wrote:,,, Dutch clover is better (very long nectar season...

No argument from me... In my area though, creeping charlie fills an early early spring dearth for the honey bees. My Russians would scout during the winter as cold as 35 degree F. They only came out in mass at that temp when they found charlie or henbit.

OK so it sounds like the general thought is that the roots will not compete too much then? Thanks to everyone for responding. Z

No, it sounds like vines typically will compete with your trees for the same mineral resources. From what I read, it sounds like grasses and forbes are a safer bet.

-CK