Blue Daze Is an Ideal Ground Cover

If you're looking for a ground cover that delivers color, toughness, and ease of care, look no further than Blue Daze (Evolvulus glomeratus). Native to Brazil and perfectly suited for Southern U.S. climates, this hardy, sprawling plant is a favorite among gardeners seeking both beauty and practicality. Its vivid blue blooms, trailing habit, and heat tolerance make it a go-to choice for everything from formal borders to sunny slopes. In this Garden Blog, let's explore 8 reasons why Blue Daze has earned a reputation as one of the best ground cover plants for sunny landscapes.

By: Reggie Meehan (12/24/2025) - Last Updated (6/4/2026)

Low-Growing Habit

One of the reasons Blue Daze works so well as a ground cover is its naturally low-growing growth habit. Most plants remain just 6 to 12 inches tall, creating a tidy carpet of foliage and flowers that stays close to the ground throughout the growing season. Unlike taller spreading plants that can block views or overwhelm neighboring flowers, Blue Daze provides color and coverage without becoming intrusive. Its compact nature makes it an excellent choice for the front of landscape beds, along walkways, around patios, and in rock gardens where a clean, finished appearance is desired.

Because it spreads outward rather than upward, Blue Daze forms a dense mat that helps soften hardscape features such as stepping stones, pavers, retaining walls, and garden borders. I particularly like using it where a landscape needs a splash of color without adding height or visual clutter. The soft gray-green foliage creates an attractive backdrop for the bright blue flowers while maintaining a neat appearance even when the plant is not in peak bloom. This combination of low stature and spreading growth is one of the primary reasons Blue Daze has become such a popular ground cover throughout the South.

Spreading Nature Without the Invasion

Many ground covers solve one problem only to create another by spreading aggressively throughout the landscape. Blue Daze strikes a much better balance. It grows outward quickly enough to fill bare spaces and create a dense carpet of foliage, yet it remains well-behaved and easy to control.

Unlike plants that spread through underground rhizomes or self-seed aggressively, Blue Daze expands primarily through trailing stems, allowing it to stay largely where it is planted. This makes it an excellent choice for gardeners who want coverage without constantly battling unwanted spread.

Vivid Blue Flowers

Perhaps the most eye-catching feature of Blue Daze is, of course, its sky-blue flowers. True blue is a rare color in the plant world, and Blue Daze delivers it in abundance. The 1-inch blooms contrast beautifully against the plant’s silvery-green foliage and add a calming, coastal feel to any landscape.

These flowers open during the day and close at night, creating a rhythmic, ever-changing display. They also attract pollinators like bees and butterflies, adding ecological value to their aesthetic appeal. Whether you’re planting them in beds, baskets, or along a sunny slope, the continuous splash of blue brings texture and vibrance all season long.

Tolerates Light Foot Traffic

While Blue Daze is not a substitute for turfgrass, it is far more durable than many flowering ground covers. Its flexible stems and dense growth habit allow it to tolerate occasional foot traffic without significant damage, making it a useful choice around stepping stones, patios, and informal garden pathways.

I've found that established plants recover quickly when lightly disturbed and continue spreading and blooming as if nothing happened. This resilience makes Blue Daze a practical option for gardens where children, pets, or visitors may occasionally wander off the designated path. Given a little room to grow, it provides an attractive balance of beauty, softness, and durability that few flowering ground covers can match.

Heat and Drought Tolerant

Blue Daze was practically made for Southern gardens. Once established, it thrives through long stretches of heat and humidity that cause many other flowering plants to struggle. I've watched Blue Daze continue blooming through temperatures in the upper 90s while neighboring plants showed signs of stress. Its ability to tolerate drought, combined with its love of full sun, makes it an excellent choice for low-maintenance landscapes, xeriscapes, and difficult planting sites.

Another advantage is its adaptability to sandy and well-drained soils where many traditional ground covers fail to perform. Whether planted in coastal gardens, rock gardens, slopes, or hot landscape beds, Blue Daze remains attractive with relatively little supplemental water. For gardeners dealing with intense Summer heat and challenging growing conditions, few ground covers offer the same combination of toughness and beauty.

Low Maintenance

One of the biggest reasons I recommend Blue Daze so often is how little work it requires once established. Unlike many flowering plants, it doesn't need regular deadheading to continue blooming and rarely requires pruning unless you want to tidy its shape or control its spread. Pests and diseases are seldom an issue, and the fuzzy foliage even helps discourage deer from browsing.

A light application of balanced fertilizer in Spring is usually all that's needed to keep plants healthy and productive throughout the growing season. If you're looking for a plant that delivers months of color without demanding constant attention, Blue Daze is about as close to "plant it and forget it" as you'll find.

Long Blooming Season

One of the most impressive qualities of Blue Daze is its incredibly long bloom period. In the South Carolina Upstate, it typically begins flowering in late Spring and continues producing blooms until the first frost of Fall. Few ground covers can match that level of sustained color, especially during the hottest months of the year. While many flowering plants slow down or stop blooming altogether during the peak of Summer, Blue Daze seems to hit its stride when temperatures soar.

This extended bloom season makes Blue Daze an outstanding choice for gardeners looking to maximize curb appeal and seasonal color. The steady supply of sky-blue flowers provides months of interest without the need for constant maintenance or replacement plantings. I've often found that Blue Daze looks just as good in August as it did in June, which is not something I can say about many annuals or flowering ground covers. For reliable color from Spring until frost, it is one of the hardest-working plants in the garden.

Natural Weed Suppression

As Blue Daze spreads and matures, it forms a dense mat of foliage that helps shade the soil and reduce opportunities for weeds to establish. By limiting sunlight at the soil surface, the plant naturally suppresses the germination of many common weed seeds. This not only keeps landscape beds looking cleaner but also reduces the amount of time spent weeding throughout the growing season. I've found that mature plantings require significantly less maintenance than open beds with large areas of exposed soil.

Another advantage is the finished appearance Blue Daze creates once it fills in. Rather than relying heavily on mulch to cover bare areas, the foliage itself provides a living carpet of color and texture. The result is a more uniform and natural-looking landscape that remains attractive throughout the season. Fewer gaps mean fewer weeds, less maintenance, and a garden that looks fuller and more established year after year.

Blue Daze is A Top Notch Ground Cover

Blue Daze checks all the boxes: it’s tough, beautiful, low-maintenance, and practical. Whether you’re trying to reduce lawn space, stabilize a slope, brighten up a border, or fill in a hot, sunny bed, this versatile ground cover makes the job easy. With its year-round color, drought resilience, and gentle spreading habit, Blue Daze brings both beauty and function to any Southern garden. If you’re looking for a ground cover that works as hard as it looks good, Blue Daze just might be the perfect fit.