Four Seasons
By Dr. Russell J. Balge
Professor Emeritus
University of Maryland

March 1, 2003

Stepping out

I was quite flattered when Carol Kinsley asked me by email if, “Now that you are retired, would you be able to write something for the next issue of the Mid-Atlantic Grower?”
First of all, retirement has been everything but, and at least two issues of the Mid-Atlantic Grower have passed under the bridge of time since Carol asked me to write. Carol and I met again, this time in person, at the 2003 Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS), where she confirmed her desire to have me write, as she popped off a full frontal flash on her camera. Feeling liked the condemned, sitting under the scrutiny of bright lights, I blinked and said yes. Carol then said, “Of course, you will have to supply us with a brief bibliography.”
Even though I am more reviled than revered, here goes.
I call Manitowoc, Wis., my point of origin. I received my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin in general agriculture and floriculture respectively. Migrating to the East Coast in 1970 to attend the University of Delaware, I received my doctorate in plant science in 1974.
Along the way, I worked at several greenhouses, garden centers and nurseries, and was in charge of several estates, including three years at the Governor’s Mansion for the state of Wisconsin. After being the director of the University of Wisconsin Botanic Garden and Greenhouse for one year, I developed the horticulture program and taught for two years at the University of Wisconsin, Platteville.
Upon leaving the University of Delaware, I became the Baltimore County Horticulture Agent with the University of Maryland in 1973. After 20 years I was promoted to area commercial horticulture agent for Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick and Harford counties for two years. For the last six years of my 28-year stint, I was the regional commercial horticultural specialist for the seven counties that abut Pennsylvania. The last four years with Cooperative Extension, I was an adjunct member of the University of Maryland Department of Natural Resource Sciences & Landscape Architecture, where I taught Special Problems in Herbaceous Perennials.
Since “retirement” I have been busy with a never ending “Honey Do” list; consulting, lecturing, photographing and writing under the banner of Four Seasons Consulting; and pursuing a multitude of personal interests that leave me wondering how I ever did my job when I had one.
On Jan. 8 of this year, I went to the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show in Baltimore for the 30th consecutive year. Wow, that is quite a record for me! When I think back and reminisce, the only other personal record that comes that close, is the 28 years I worked for the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension before retiring, a tour that lasted a very enjoyable, fulfilling, 14 times longer than any other job I ever had.
As I walked something like 5 miles, or at least it seemed that long, up one aisle and down the next, looking for one new idea, concept or promotion that excited me, I had almost given up until I came to what must have been the very last booth that I saw in the Trade Show. There, nestled away in a corner, much like the plants that they espouse tucking into the crevices between stepping-stones and patio blocks, was a diminutive booth touting Stepables. Stepables are a series of unique perennial groundcover plants that can be used in lieu of lawns where light to heavy foot traffic might preclude or make difficult the use of traditional grassy lawns, or even be used in place of lawns.
Eons ago, my genetics instructor at the University of Wisconsin said, “Variety is not only the spice of life, variety is life.” The diversity in texture, color, bloom, fragrance when crushed underfoot and tolerance if not acceptance of site, climate and soil that different groundcover plants can offer is limitless. While I actually enjoy lawns, especially the feel of walking barefoot on them, and horrors, derive a therapeutic satisfaction from mowing mine, I have encouraged the concept of using groundcovers in lieu of lawns for many years. After all, Walt Whitman said, “All leaves are grass.”
What, then, is a groundcover? A groundcover is generally “A low-growing, wide-spreading, attractive, preferably evergreen plant used in place of grass, mulching materials, rocks and pebbles or earth in an area that might otherwise be unsightly if devoid of vegetation.” In the case of Stepables, they are plants uniquely suited to those areas between the discrete units of hard surfaces that comprise pathways and patios or to soften other architectural features of the landscape. Of course they can be used to edge walks or creep or spill over into flowerbeds and borders, especially those on hillsides or in-between and alongside the steps that ascend them. Stepables can be used in those areas between sidewalks and streets that are too narrow for a traditional lawn, or used where it is too dry or wet or too sunny or shady for conventional lawns. They can even be placed in raised planter beds.
Stepables potentially have a unique relationship with trees, as they can protect the trunks of trees from mechanical damage where mowing is possible, or be used as a living mulch under those trees where mowing is impossible. Why anyone would hide exposed roots, I can not fathom, but they can even be used to disguise the soil-surface-running roots of trees that produce them. The multi-faceted Stepables may act as a transition between diverse areas of the landscape, be used to overcome a difficult area such as a rocky slope, or to provide visual interest as they lead the eye from one landscape feature to another, tying the manicured and the more informal elements together.
To qualify as a Stepables, a ground cover plant must meet some rather daunting and demanding criteria. Those plants used as Stepables must among other things, be non-temperamental, free of insect and disease problems, semi-evergreen to evergreen, widely adaptable to a range of cold and heat as well as soil conditions, easily propagated, and vigorous in growth yet be not invasive. Ideally they should possess an interesting demeanor from the standpoint of foliage, flowers, fall color, and possibly even have fall fruit.
The ultimate choice of which of the Stepables to use will depend upon the design characteristic sought such as color, texture, form, shape, size, growth habit, rate of growth, resistance to foot traffic and personal preference. Other factors involving the site, such as sun or shade exposure, wet or dry and acid or alkaline soil, exposure to salt, and the windiness of the area must be considered. Ideally the Stepable selected should also be low maintenance.
One of the advantages of Stepables, aside from softening the space between the discreet units of hard surfaces found in pathways and patios, is that they are all-terrain plants. Nor are they as demanding as lawns of maintenance, such as mowing, raking, edging, weeding, watering, feeding, liming, and insect and disease control. They function as a living mulch, moderating soil temperatures, reducing water loss due to runoff, allowing percolation and keeping down weeds. Of more significant importance, especially here in Maryland, is that Stepables provide a reduction in the use of environmentally damaging lawn maintenance chemicals that would enter the Chesapeake Bay from runoff during rainfall or irrigation. They also lessen the amount of noise and air pollution that occurs during mowing lawns.
Admittedly, not all is necessarily sunshine. Stepables must usually be transplanted from vegetative starts instead of seeding and will be needed to be planted at a greater than usual density for an immediate effect.
For at least the first two years it may be difficult to keep them free of weeds. With the exception of grassy weeds that can be controlled with Fusilade (fluazifop-P-butyl), Stepables, being mostly broad-leaved, usually can’t be weeded with selective herbicides.
If they are tender and are planted outside of their USDA Winter Hardiness or their AHS Heat Tolerance zones, they may be killed by harsh winters or hot summers. Ground covers used as Stepables can be smothered by leaves, or unless they are sturdy enough, irreparably squashed by pedestrian traffic. They may, by virtue of their greater diversity, be susceptible to a wider range of insects and disease and need to be monitored for them.
Once Stepables are planted, they require little maintenance other than keeping them watered, gently raking off leaves as they fall onto the plants, feeding them annually with 2 to 3 pounds of 10-10-10 or 1 to 1.5 pounds of 20-20-20 slow-release fertilizer per 100 square feet of actual bed space, keeping weeds out by hand weeding, and monitoring the plants for insect and disease problems. Any disease or insect problems should be treated with environmentally “soft” pesticides.
I called Fran Hopkins, the effervescent genesis (or is it genius?) of Stepables to find out more about the origin and extent of the company. Fran started Stepables five years ago and has been national, international counting Canada, the last four years. Currently, 17 different growers distributed throughout the United States and Canada to guarantee the freshness of the product, raise some 6 million plants annually. At present, 85 different species or cultivars are grown with plans for more.
In the future, Fran plans to refine the marketing of Stepables to fit niche markets, focusing on such targets as drought tolerant, regional climate, seaside, season-specific and specialty uses. All research, product development, marketing concepts, are conducted by Fran and her dedicated group of seven employees in Salem, Ore.
For more complete information on Stepables, sold by Under a Foot Plant Co., go their Web site, www.STEPABLES.com. The Web site contains the Latin and common names, a brief description of each species or cultivar, amount of foot traffic that can be tolerated, growth rate and habit, whether the plant is dormant in the winter, and cold tolerance. Information on use, installation, care and maintenance is also excellent.
The Web site also gives an extensive list of where the plants are sold locally, or allows you to order on line.
The best reference for ground covers that I know of is Perennial Ground Covers by David S. MacKenzie, Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 1997. Two other credible references are Plants for Ground-Cover by Graham Stuart Thomas, J. M. Dent & Sons LTD, London and Melbourne, 1970, and Ground Cover: A Thousand Beautiful Plants for Difficult Places by John Cushnie, Kyle Cathie Limited, London, 1999.