Food-Gardening Lessons From A Wartime Victory Garden

Creeping Jenny Removal

Creeping Jenny (Image by Kurt Stüber)

“I have been trying for years to eliminate the creeping jenny that is seeming to take over my garden and flower bed with no success. What is the best way to get rid of it?” Question from Brenda of Peterson, Iowa

Answer: Such a pretty plant…such a pain to remove when you want it gone. Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) is a pretty but aggressive groundcover that can take over garden areas pronto, especially if your garden ground is moist and fertile.  The golden cultivar is most commonly planted.

The creeping stems root along the ground and spread quickly. If your plants bloom, they are setting seed, too. The plants are fairly shallow rooted, so I recommend taking a flat, sharp spade and manually cutting out plants from underneath. (They don’t respond well to weed killers.). Then cover the areas of removal with thick organic mulch to discourage small undetected stem pieces from re-rooting and seeds from sprouting. Have you observed any in your lawn?

Happy Gardening! Jessie

 

About JESSIE KEITH

Plants are the lens Jessie views the world through because they’re all-sustaining. (“They feed, clothe, house and heal us. They produce the air we breathe and even make us smell pretty.”) She’s a garden writer and photographer with degrees in both horticulture and plant biology from Purdue and Michigan State Universities. Her degrees were bolstered by internships at Longwood Gardens and the American Horticultural Society. She has since worked for many horticultural institutions and companies and now manages communications for Sun Gro Horticulture, the parent company of Black Gold. Her joy is sharing all things green and lovely with her two daughters.

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