(Zone 6A, Albany, NY)
I just discovered a patch of (what I believe is) crownvetch growing on my lawn. I see online that it's good for erosion control and I am dealing with significant erosion on the side of my house, to the point that it is causing structural damage inside and I’m in the process of getting it backfilled.
Would it be awful to move the crownvetch to the hilly side where l'm having issues once it’s built back up? I see it is invasive in the Midwest but I'm almost in New England. I'm having trouble getting creeping thyme or moss to grow on the hill and am wondering if Mother Nature just dropped a solution on my lawn. I've been trying to find no-mow/low-mow lawn alternatives so if it isn't a nightmare, I don't care if it chokes out my grass. All my native plants are in other sections.
Thank you for any advice! (And thank you to the Mods for helping solve my issue!)
by LippieLovinLady
2 Comments
It’s horribly invasive, do not recommend.
Instead of Vetch, consider other native legumes for your region, and establish some native grasses (e.g. Switchgrass) in between some shrubs like chokeberry, elderberry, and spicebush. You can reach out to your local extension office for more specific things that may grow near you and possibly even recommendations for nurseries that carry them.
Vetch is awful, and is one of the 7 deadly bastards in my yard: vetch, creeping charlie/jenny, amur honeysuckle, tree of heaven, bradford pear, and field bindweed. I kill them with fire.
Edit: I see you said you have some other natives in your yard, have you considered splitting them and putting them in the spot once it’s filled? Or doing a cover crop of something like annual ryegrass until some other stuff gets established?