What are the best ground cover plants for the UAE?

The picks, in order

1. 

   1.Ruellia Blue Tray — 6 Plants

   Ruellia simplex · AED 79

   The default answer. It flowers violet-blue every single morning from spring to late autumn, clumps to about 60cm, takes full sun or part shade, and asks for water twice a week. The one caveat: it spreads by runners and seed, so it belongs in a bed you want filled, not a tight designed border.

   Opens a fresh set of violet-blue flowers every morning from spring to late autumn; cut the clump to the ground in February and it returns thicker.

2. 

   2.Wedelia Ground Cover — 6 Plants

   Sphagneticola trilobata · AED 89

   The workhorse for plain green coverage under trees and shrubs, with yellow daisy flowers as a bonus. Faster than ruellia to knit and cheaper per square metre. Choose it when the job is holding soil and hiding bare ground rather than providing a flower display.

   The UAE landscaping workhorse for plain fast coverage — it roots as it runs, so it closes a gap quicker than ruellia but will cross into a lawn or path if left unedged.

3. 

   3.Portulaca Sun Jewels Tray — 6 Plants

   Portulaca grandiflora 'Sun Jewels' · AED 55

   The only one on this list that genuinely prefers the balcony corner that bakes from noon. Succulent leaves, double flowers, almost no water. It will not work anywhere shaded — the flowers stay shut — so do not use it to fill under a tree.

   Flowers stay shut in shade — this only works in a spot that gets direct midday sun, which makes it the right plant for the balcony corner that bakes.

4. 

   4.Chinese Violet (Asystasia) Tray — 6 Plants

   Asystasia gangetica · AED 59

   The dry-shade solution. It fills under trees and along north-facing walls where grass thins and flowering plants refuse, carrying small cream-and-purple flowers while it does it. Vigorous enough that you must edge it twice a year or it takes the bed.

   Fills dry shade under trees and along north walls where grass thins out — vigorous enough that it needs edging twice a year to stay in bounds.

5. 

   5.Sea Purslane (Sesuvium) Tray — 6 Plants

   Sesuvium portulacastrum · AED 55

   The specialist. It grows on UAE beaches in salt and sand on effectively no fresh water, which makes it the answer for a coastal plot or a bed on brackish TSE irrigation. In a normal irrigated garden bed it works but is out-competed — save it for the hard spots.

   Grows natively on UAE beaches in salt and sand — the ground cover for a coastal plot or a bed irrigated with brackish TSE water.

6. 

   6.Alternanthera Green Tray — 6 Plants

   Alternanthera ficoidea · AED 59

   For clipped edging and pattern work, the way UAE parks and hotel beds use it. It holds a line under shearing better than anything else here. The trade-off is water: it wants a soak every other day in July, which makes it the thirstiest plant on this list.

   The plant behind the clipped edging patterns in UAE parks and hotel beds — it holds a line under shearing, but it wants water every other day to do it.

7. 

   7.Bloodleaf (Iresine) Tray — 6 Plants

   Iresine herbstii · AED 69

   Grown for crimson foliage that holds colour all year, which no flowering annual can do. Best in morning sun — deep shade turns it muddy and unshaded July afternoon sun scorches the edges. Use it as a colour block in front of dark hedging.

   Crimson colour is strongest in morning sun — deep shade turns it muddy and unshaded July sun scorches the leaf edges.

8. 

   8.Flax Lily (Dianella) — 3 Plants

   Dianella tasmanica · AED 99

   Not a spreading cover — a clumping structure plant that gives a bed vertical lines between the low spreaders. Evergreen, tidy, works in both full sun and real shade. Plant it as the punctuation, with ruellia or asystasia running between.

   Safety: Berries are not edible and cause stomach upset if eaten.

   Gives a bed the vertical structure an ornamental grass does, but stays evergreen and tidy instead of dying back each year — and it works in real shade too.

What we left out, and why

• Natural lawn grass — A real lawn is the highest-water surface you can install in the UAE and needs mowing through a Gulf summer. If you want a green surface rather than a planted bed, that is a separate decision — and it should be an informed one about water bills, not a default.
• Mondo grass — Popular in cooler climates for edging, but it sulks in UAE heat and reflected wall temperature. Alternanthera does the same job here and survives.

Common questions

Keep reading

• Which outdoor plants survive a UAE summer?→
• What are the best plants for a Dubai balcony?→