Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ is a popular ornamental plant, admired for its distinctive silver-gray foliage and graceful cascading habit. It adds texture and visual interest to garden designs. Companion planting, growing different plant species together, enhances aesthetic appeal and contributes to overall plant health.
Understanding Dichondra Silver Falls
Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ is a tender perennial, typically grown as an annual in many regions, known for its rapid growth and trailing stems. Its soft, rounded, fan-shaped leaves have a shimmering, metallic silver appearance. The plant thrives in full sun, which maintains its vibrant silver color and promotes dense growth. It can tolerate partial shade.
Once established, this plant demonstrates good heat and drought tolerance. It prefers well-drained soil and requires moderate watering, allowing the soil to dry out between applications. Its trailing nature makes it an excellent “spiller” in container designs or a flowing groundcover, forming dense mats.
Choosing Companion Plants
Selecting companion plants for Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ requires considering several factors for successful growth. Matching light and water requirements is important, as similar needs simplify care. Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ prefers full sun and well-drained soil, so companions should share these preferences.
Complementary growth habits create balanced and visually appealing arrangements. In containers, this means incorporating “thriller” plants for vertical interest and “filler” plants for volume, alongside Dichondra’s “spiller” role. Contrasting or complementary colors and textures also contribute to visual harmony. The silver foliage of Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ provides a neutral backdrop that can highlight vibrant blooms or darker foliage. Ensuring plants do not aggressively outcompete each other for resources is also important for a healthy planting.
Recommended Companion Plants
Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ pairs well with a variety of plants, creating diverse visual effects. For sunny locations, many annuals offer vibrant contrast.
Annuals
Petunias, with their wide range of colors, and calibrachoa, featuring small, bell-shaped flowers, create striking displays.
Verbena, known for its long-lasting blooms and trailing habit, complements Dichondra effectively.
Sun-tolerant coleus varieties provide contrasting foliage colors like dark green, purple, or chartreuse.
Sweet potato vine offers different leaf shapes and colors, such as chartreuse or dark purple.
Lantana adds clusters of vibrant flowers and a contrasting texture.
Perennials and Ornamental Grasses
Low-growing sedum varieties offer different textures and forms.
Certain ornamental grasses, such as ‘Toffee Twist’ Carex, introduce fine textures and subtle coloration.
Plants with darker green, purple, or chartreuse leaves, like Heuchera, highlight Dichondra’s shimmering leaves through strong contrast.
Lobelia provides delicate blue or purple flowers.
Alyssum adds charm and fragrance with its dainty blooms.
These combinations ensure visual interest and compatible growing conditions.
Designing with Dichondra Silver Falls and Companions
Integrating Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ into garden designs leverages its unique trailing habit for visual flow. In container plantings, it excels as a “spiller” component, positioned near the edge to cascade over the sides of pots, hanging baskets, or window boxes. This creates a waterfall effect, softening the container’s hard edges and balancing taller “thriller” and mounding “filler” plants.
For garden beds, Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ functions effectively as an edging plant or groundcover. Its spreading nature forms a dense mat, which helps suppress weeds and provides a continuous, silvery carpet. When designing, consider the mature spread of both Dichondra and its companions to allow adequate spacing, ensuring each plant has room to develop without overcrowding.
Caring for Combined Plantings
Maintaining a combined planting of Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ and its companions involves consistent care. For mixed containers, check soil moisture regularly, allowing the top layer to dry out between waterings. Proper drainage is important for all plants in the grouping.
While Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ is not a heavy feeder, a general-purpose, slow-release fertilizer supports the overall vigor of the combined plants. Light pruning or deadheading of flowering companions helps maintain continuous blooming and appearance. Trimming Dichondra’s runners can encourage a bushier, more compact growth habit, ensuring the plant remains proportional to its companions.