Lysimachia Species, Creeping Jenny, Creeping Yellow Loosestrife, Moneywort

Before it was prohibited here (Massachusetts), I bought two plants (of the gold-leafed cultivar) for use in containers. The client plante...Read Mored them in the beds without telling me, and it took only a few months to become an ineradicable weed, both in the borders and also in the lawn. (This is a no-herbicide garden.)

This plant creeps quickly along the ground and roots at every node. In our heavy soil, the roots are stronger than the stems, and if I pull, the stem snaps above the nearest rooted node. That makes it as hard to remove from the lawn as ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea), which has a similar habit and is also a problem in this garden.

This species is native to Europe and widely naturalized throughout the US. (The information on the USDA database has been corrected.) There is widespread concern about its invasion of natural habitat, especially in sensitive wetlands.

It can be controlled with 2% glyphosate herbicide.

I have this plant in several places throughout my flowerbeds Although many have said that it is invasive, however, I think it is a quick,...Read More simple fix for problem areas and and for erosion control. I have had these for 15 years and I have not experienced the problems that others have mentioned. I'm in zone 6a.

I have this plant in several places throughout my flowerbeds. I must admit that it got to most of those places by itself and it gets into places where I don't want it to be as well. I just pull it and that's the end of that. The main plant from which it branches out across the ground, is the only part of the plant that is deeply rooted. It roots all along the entire lenth of the branches as they grow outward. The following year, if I don't want last years branches, those are easily pulled and they will not come back. If you pull a plant that has been there for more than a year, those are the plants that will continue to grow back because the roots are deeper. Unless it is dug. The older the plant, the deeper the roots.

This is the perfect plant if you have a problem area where nothing else will grow. This plant will quickly blanket bare ground and turn it into beautiful emerald green, speckled with masses of bright yellow blooms in mid spring to mid summer. Whether it be in sun or shade, wet or dry. And when I say blanket, I mean just that. Any small plants or rocks will also be covered by this plant. If you have an erosion problem, this is perfect for that too.

Pretty plant that I found this year for the first time at the edge of our pond. Gave it a neutral because I will wait and see if it is in...Read Morevasive in our pond or if it stays at the edge.

I expect by next year I'll want to change my rating to negative because it IS invasive. So far it's under control and is very pretty but ...Read Moreit's on its way to cover my moss which I've cultivated in the rock garden. I don't want that so I may be very sorry that I planted this. Don't plant it near anything that you don't want covered by this yellow blanket.

Two years ago I decided to clear several areas in the woods in front of my house. After planting the usual number of ferns, hostas,etc.,...Read More I was given a number of Moneywort plants by a neighbor. They have flourished in partial sun and in full shade. I would rather look at them than at bare dirt and mulch. I've taken cuttings and use them as accents in hanging baskets. Invasive? Yes! So plant it in areas where you do not care what it does.

This is the same Moneywort sold in the aquarium industry. It does very well fully submerged as long as there is enough light (higher ligh...Read Moret the better). It tends to melt in lower light aquariums. Does best with supplemental CO2, and the growth under water is pretty different from emersed growth.

Although listed on the USDA as present in many states throughout America and Canada, creeping Jenny isn't a native species. You'll find t...Read Morehere, it's introduced. It's a native of Europe and Asia. The fact that it can grow out of bounds and out of control is why it's considered invasive. It outcompetes native species. Trust me! It can!! :)

At first I thought this was a great groundcover with a charming bloom of a bright shade of yellow. It was happily growing in a border & a...Read Morelso in a large flower bed. Well, growing unchecked for over a year it managed to crawl up & over my hardy geraniums, lilies, and even had started crawling up the trunk of my silk tree. I am now in the process of erradicating every trace of it. First with hand to weed combat. It has a web like root system that is almost impossible to remove completely. I have been removing my desireable plants, cleaning their roots & hilling them in a clean spot while I poison all the creeping jenny. It is even difficult to poison. I've sprayed it twice with round up type poison. & it's still breathing. By this time next year I may be creeping jenny free. Oh, and the slugs & snails don't even bother it!

Noxious Weed Information:
Lysimachia nummularia L.
This plant is listed by the U.S. federal government or a state.
C...Read Moreonnecticut:
moneywort Potentially invasive, not banned
Massachusetts:
creeping jenny, moneywort Prohibited

try it as a pond plant
it is great in one summer one small plant planted on the side of my pond and i let the vines grow into the...Read More water it just took off like crazy and made huge roots in the water helped clean the water and covered the top of my 2200 gallon pond in half a summer
it then grew twice as fast the next year as it survived our winter and grew again it was amasing
and the small yellow flowers that covered everything where so nice

I find it amusing that there are people saying this plant should be banned in the US. When you go to the USDA site it is listed as a na...Read Moretive to the lower 48 and Canada.

Yes it is very happy when it is where it likes to be. The lesson is to plant it somewhere that you can keep it in bounds. I have it growing on the west side of my house where it makes a perfect ground cover beneath my box shrubs and then fades into the lawn where it doesn't seem to mind being mowed. It also loves being out by my pond, where it makes a water plant and also fades into the lawn there the same way it does on teh west. I love this plant.

I just bought some Creeping Jenny for around my Koi pond. after reading all comments, i will probably keep her in a container. I would ...Read Morelike it to creep into the pond and would like to know if this plant is harmful to my Koi if they feel a desire to nibble. Is she harmful to fish?

Yes it is invasive, but it is also easy to keep under control. I use it as a ground cover for a perennial bed - it provides good contras...Read Moret to the taller plants, and provides a nice base in the early season. As the taller plants become established, I just yank jenny back around their edges so she doesn't become a bully. I have not allowed her to spread into other beds, just the one. I've also added it to summer planters with good luck.

I made the mistake of planting this a couple of years ago. It's very invasive, and has spread under my rock border into my lawn. When pul...Read Moreling it up, and piece left will root and start a new plant.

I didn't plant this, but the previous homeowners did. They bought it locally, as I have seen it at Wal-Mart for sale this past spring. ...Read MoreIt has become a nuisance in how difficult it is to eradicate. I have used glyphosate (RoundUp) on it and it turns it yellow and maybe sets it back a bit, but I find it returns in a few months or the following spring. A broad-leaf weedkiller does a better job, and be sure to check on it in two weeks to make certain you killed all off the tendrils that can easily root even when cut off from the main radius. Still, this plant could use some heavy duty weedkiller, such as that used by the power-line right-of-way men that spray these types of areas. It is that persistant. I'm afraid that if I don't get rid of it before we move, it will end up growing out of hand, into areas that will not be easy to contain it, such as the woodland.
I don't mind weeds, but when they're this difficult to remove, then they should be banned from the US.

This is a very fast growing ground cover. Good for borders, hanging baskets and underneath trees. If one wants an invasive ground cover t...Read Morehis is it. I have found this to be deer resistant.

Highly invasive in my experience. Introduced two starts in spring 06 and now must pull it out of my raised beds constantly to contain it'...Read Mores growth. I will remove it as quickly and completely as I can. Would not want to see this allowed to naturalize in this area. The previous owner already introduced English ivy we are battling to contain.

The cultivar 'Aurea' seems to be less invasive than the typical green type, has the benefit of the bright yellow-green coloring, and sti...Read Morell makes a good weed-choking ground cover.

The standard version, however, made the trip with us from California four years ago as a ground cover in a pot with a Japanese maple, which was planted in the ground when we arrived here. The maple gave up the ghost shortly thereafter when it was not watered during a vacation, but the green Creeping Jenny has been on the war path ever since and not looked back. Happily, it's in a confined space where it can be controlled; even so, it has to be cut back several times a month to keep it from escaping.

We continue to plant divisions of 'Aurea' in appropriate locations, but would avoid this standard version like the plague.

I love this plant, and it is not invasive here at all for me.
I use it in containers for a wonderful burst of foliage color, and i...Read Moren the ground, both in shade and half day sun.

The plants in half day sun are a pretty chartruese, while the plants in the shade remain more green.

It blooms better in half day sun, but do manage to get a few blooms in the shade.
I wish I had a lot more of this gem.

I would not say necessarily that I have a negative experience, as the plant thrives and is resilient...but the last 2 springs a little gr...Read Moreay caterpillar has chomped virtually all the leaves in the spring.

This is great groundcover for sure, keeps weeds to a minimum...and it looks striking against darker hostas, for example. But it does "er...Read Morease" very low plants and you have to keep an eye out for it running under paving stones. You can, however, pull it out relatively easily at the right time of year.

We have lived here in Mid-Arkansas for 8 years, and the previous homeowner planted this ground cover in two areas in the yard-a steep hil...Read Morelside, and a drainage ditch. It has invaded other areas, and only made worse when my husband used some top soil from the said area as filler for low spots. Now, it is in several places. As of two years ago, we noticed it becoming invasive, creeping into areas far from the original rooted spots, including the woods. This turned on a red flag for us -the next Kudzoo vine and Japanese Honeysuckle! I used RoundUp to control it more than once. It came back. Last year I used 2,4-d broadleaf herbicide on it twice. I thought that was the last of it. This Spring, I have found it sprouting back from the main rootstocks, though, some of the plants have been killed. I will continue to use 2,4-d to completely eradicate it.
The difficulty of this weed is that is it very low growing, and sends out shoots hidden in vegetation, including lawn grass. You can't simply pull it, as the plant breaks off, roots still intact.
We feel it should be banned from the USA,

Though I do love to look of creeping Jenny, it has been placed on the "do not plant" list in our area. Some of the wholesalers have been...Read More told to pull it off the shelves because of it's invasive nature. I will attest to the fact that it has spread in areas I didn't even plant it due to the reseeding- and I am now pulling it out from all kinds of places. It will not be contained in a container as it will reseed in the walkway, or anywhere else the wind blows!

This grows in my three season pond. I love it. It's not invasive in my 5b/6a zone. It provides habitat for frogs and crayfish, it grows w...Read Morehere nothing else seems to want to. It gets dappled sunlight to mostly shady where it's at.

I had a 100 foot pond dug 8 feet deep in clay soil & I took cuttings from a local creeping jenny & just stuck the leaves in the ground ar...Read Moreound the sides of the pond. It makes an excellent ground cover around all the irises & daylilies which are tall enough to escape its creeping, but it will devour smaller plants. In one year it had completely covered the sides of the pond. It survives the differing water levels & grows into & under the water so fish & frogs can hide in it. I find that after it blooms is the best time to yank it away from whatever it is devouring. Just grab a handful & yank it out.I did give it a neutral because it will cover things if you dont keep up on it, but it keeps weeds at bay, too which is a plus.

This is a beautiful addition to my container garden. It grows pretty quickly, and when approaching the edge of the container, "flows" ov...Read Moreer in a cascading fashion. The chartreuse color is unique and really stands out compared to other foilage. I was also so happy to see that it survived several frosts this winter (stayed evergreen) and when warmer weather hit, started sending out more beautiful chartreuse "babies."

Great plant.....glad I discovered it!

This a great ground cover for shady areas(I'm zone 6). It grows well in part shade or dry full shade in clay soil....whick is great for m...Read Moree cause I've got lots of shade(and none of its that elusive mosit rich soil you always hear about). The gold leaved variety looks great with purple ajuga and is less invasive then the species. It will climb over low groing plants though......But I just pull it away.

I found this plant to be invasive, covering everything in its vicinity. I'm still trying to eliminate it! It would be ok for a planter, o...Read Morer for erosion control but I regret the day I planted it in my garden.

Creeping Jenny grows very fast, and looks great trailing from a shady window box. I've been planting impatiens in my north-facing window...Read More boxes for years, but I also like trying new shade--loving plants and mixing them in. I've only had it for about 2 months, so it still may choke out my impatiens before the summer is over. By next year, I'm sure it wil ltake over the whole window box. I don't mind - its bright yellow-green leaves are gorgeous!

love the chartreuse color of this plant. I grow mine in pots, so invasiveness not a problem. Gave a tiny bit to my dear neighbor last f...Read Moreall and today it has covered about 5 sq ft. Mine is planted in part sun, I water often in summer; she has it planted in mostly shade and requires less watering than mine.

I found this plant growing wild here in the woods along a narrow path I kept mowed. It does very well among the hostas but I have to kee...Read Morep pulling it from areas it has reached where I have shorter plants growing as it will climb right over anything in its path that is short enough. I love it around the pond where it will climb over the rock border and hang into the water.

I love this plant, although it definitely borders on the invasive. The golden-leaved cultivar is readily available at nurseries here in t...Read Morehe Catskill mountains of NY and I use it extensively in pots in full sun. The green-leaved version grows wild in wet spots in my lawn, and seems to prefer partial shade. It blooms profusely and reblooms after I mow the lawn.

In Delaware, Jenny is growing nicely to provide a shade groundcover where little else will grow (like under my weeping laceleaf japanese ...Read Moremaple). I started her indoors, and liked her so much I tried her outside in sunny pots. Too much direct sun dried her out too fast. But, in light to deep shade, she's thriving.

She's definitely prostrate here - never more than an inch high!

It grows in the shade here but not much bloom. It's cool enough here to stop it from being invasive. I am planting it in a little sunnier...Read More location to see if it will bloom more...

I have to rate this plant a "neutral" because it definitely was invasive here. It's beautiful and easy...and good to share with others.....Read More.BUT it will grow right over everything in it's path! I started with about four tiny starts of this, and I was well on my way to being able to do a "comb over" on my house, by the time I decided to get rid of it.
I do love it in pots, but will never let it "loose" in my yard again!

I have had this groundcover for several years - I have never seen a bloom! It does do well in either full sun or shade. If left in the...Read More sun it will turn golden yellow, but in the shade it is a mediun green. Creeping Jennie also does well in a hanging basket.

Great groundcover, very invasive in 9b. Works great around and/or in a pond.

Zone 4: Not nearly as invasive as Sedum Acre! It's behaving very nicely in my light shade garden, the yellow green foliage brightens up the area.

Grows very quickly and works as a great groundcover. Yellow blooms abound. Needs lots of water to get started, then not so much once it...Read More is established.