Lithodora

Last year about this time we bought a home in Sequim, Washington. There are a few lithodora plants and they are in pretty deep cedar bark. Although they look fairly healthy I don't see much spreading. I absolutely love this plant and the deer leave it alone. Should I scrape away the cedar bark to encourage spreading?

I am a fairly novice gardner though I enjoy it immensely. Thanks for the help.

Barbara P.

Anne's Response:

If you want the lithodora to spread it needs to have good contact with the ground. I would remove the bark in the immediate area of the plants that are established. You can leave some of the mulch in place to keep weeds under control until the plant material fills in. You don’t need to have mulch any deeper than 2 inches for weed control and moisture retention.