Plants for strengthening banking.

[Jay22]

As the title says anyone any ideas for plants to strengthen a banking? The road is bordered by a slope up to a field which in some places is starting to erode. Short of paying a lot of money to have it sorted professionally thought maybe plants would bind it a bit. It's not eroding much so no big panic but always prepared is the motto!

[BeeHappyFlutterBy]

A mix of Aubretia and Heathers all different flowering times ie;
Spring Summer Autumn and Winter flowering works well- and don't think you could get a more attractive look I've also got a bank of Hardy geranium Rozanne which flowers from April till the frost kills it off, it's sensational to look at but not evergreen so is rather bare in the winter - its under planted with Peonies- so i'm hoping its stabilised by them- time will tell

[happyhumph]

I also have a lot of banks that need something more attractive than the current mix of grass, brambles etc. As mine are all near vertical I'm thinking something along the lines of Vinca major - a bit of a thug I wouldn't put elsewhere in the garden, but should do the job there.

The heather bank looks beautiful though....

[bramble]

Cotoneaster, the prostate one. Covers the ground with strong branches.
Flowers in spring/summer and berries for the birds in the autumn.
No upkeep.

[Jay22]

Ooo I'm loving that aubretia, looks beautiful. Forgot about heathers, that's a good shout Bee! We actually have periwinkle and cotoneaster growing in the garden. We find little cotoneaster plants all over the place so will bring them on in pots and plant out when bigger. Will the periwinkle grow from cuttings do you think?
Thanks all for the suggestions!

[happyhumph]

The vinca can be propagated about now with cuttings or you can divide it in spring or autumn. Or, in my experience, plant something small and delicate near it and wait for the periwinkle to invade it

[burnie]

Heathers need an acid soil, which bit of Scotland are you in Jay?(Is it you in Edinburgh? memory like a sieve)

[Jay22]

No it's for South Ayrshire Burnie but we have a couple of heathers there already and also loads of rhododendrons so I assume it's acid?

[burnie]

I guess it depends on how high this bank is, things like heather are quite small so the roots won't be massive. When I used to help a fishing club stabilise banks of ponds/gravel pits, we used willow as it threw down some good roots to lock the bank soil.

[veggiechicken]

Sorry Jay but I keep thinking this is about the financial institutions
How high & steep is the bank?

[nickdub]

St John's wort will probably do the trick for you as it has very strong roots which it spreads by, they're like organic wire - Don't put it anywhere you don't want it to take over though, its a real pig to get rid of once established. If you plant it you may have to remove any grass which grows on the bank for a year or two as it will look v scruffy with grass growing through it.

I also use comfrey on a rough bank I have, it too has strong roots but it's not a spreader, so you have to chop it up and plant bits out if you want to propagate it - the bumble-bees like the flowers.

[Jay22]

Thanks again everyone. VC/Burnie, the height varies as you drive down the road so not to bad near the house and then quite steep as you get to the bottom. We won't bother with the bottom, if that begins to get bad we will have to call in the professionals.

Just checked out the willow Burnie, that looks great for further down the road...thanks!