Creeping Jenny is a beautiful perennial that makes an excellent houseplant or groundcover. With proper care, it will even bloom bright yellow flowers that are cheerful and charming. What exactly does proper creeping Jenny care entail? If you want to bring this lovely plant to your home or garden, then this guide will answer all your questions. Keep your creeping Jenny happy and healthy with these care tips. From planting to pet safety, we have you covered in this handy guide to creeping Jenny care.
Contents
Planting creeping Jenny
Creeping Jenny care
Common pests and problems
Is creeping Jenny invasive?
Is creeping Jenny safe for pets?
Planting creeping Jenny
Creeping Jenny is best started in early spring, although indoor creeping Jenny can be started at any time if you keep your home warm. This plant can grow in a traditional garden or a container, although its spreading habit makes it more popular as a container plant. If you do plant it in a traditional garden, be sure to give it some room to grow. Space it roughly 2 feet away from other plants, so it doesn’t grow over its neighbors.
Plant or position your creeping Jenny in full sun to partial shade. More sun typically brings out the highlights in the leaves, giving them a more golden appearance. However, intense, direct sunlight can also bleach or burn the leaves, so afternoon shade is ideal, especially if you live in the southern part of the U.S. When it comes to soil, creeping Jenny isn’t picky. As long as it’s a well-draining soil, practically any type of soil will work.
Creeping Jenny care
Creeping Jenny is a low-maintenance houseplant, and it’s fairly easy to care for in a traditional garden as well. Water is an important part of creeping Jenny care. While your plant won’t turn into dust if you miss a watering every once in a while, it prefers regular deep watering. Water it whenever the top inch or so of soil is dry. This may only be once or twice a week for indoor plants, but can vary based on the weather for outdoor plants.
Fertilize your creeping Jenny during spring and summer with either a balanced or high-nitrogen fertilizer. During the growing season, you can trim your creeping Jenny to help control its size and remove unhealthy stems. Make sure your scissors or shears are clean to avoid spreading harmful bacteria or fungal spores to your plant. You can use the cut stems to propagate your creeping Jenny if you prefer. These propagated plants make great gifts.
Common pests and problems
Most pests won’t affect creeping Jenny, but there are a few common pests and problems to look out for. As with any moisture-loving plant, fungal infections and fungus gnat infestations can become an issue. Air circulation is an important part of keeping these problems at bay. Avoid crowding your creeping Jenny so that air can move freely among its stems.
Common household and garden pests such as aphids and thrips can also occasionally bother creeping Jenny. While damage from these pests is rarely severe, they can still be nuisances and weaken your plant. If the infestation is severe, use an insecticidal soap.
Is creeping Jenny invasive?
Creeping Jenny is considered invasive in the U.S. It’s native to Europe and can be an aggressive spreader under the right conditions. While it isn’t likely to escape your garden in the far north or south, where the more extreme heat and cold will keep it in check, it can escape into surrounding yards, gardens, and natural spaces in other parts of the U.S.
In some states, it’s even listed as prohibited, meaning sales or imports of creeping Jenny may be limited or banned. The best way to control creeping Jenny is to grow it in a container. If you choose to grow it in your garden, be sure there is a border to discourage it from spreading beyond your garden and trim it to control its size.
Is creeping Jenny safe for pets?
Good news — creeping Jenny is considered nontoxic for both cats and dogs. While it can cause an upset stomach if your pet eats a significant amount, you don’t need to panic if your curious pet nibbles or chews on it occasionally. If your pet does eat a significant amount, contact your vet to let them know. Your vet should be able to help treat the uncomfortable symptoms while they last. It generally isn’t great for your plant’s health to be chewed on, though, so if your pet has a habit of eating your houseplants, you might still want to consider moving your creeping Jenny out of reach.
Creeping Jenny is an excellent houseplant that can grow outdoors as well as indoors. It’s a surprisingly hardy perennial, despite its delicate appearance, and is perfect for beginners and experts alike. You’ll enjoy seeing this lovely plant’s yellow flowers and glossy leaves, whether in your home or in your garden, so why not get started growing it today?
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Creeping jenny needs well-draining sand, loam or clay, and these vigorous plants are not picky about soil pH. Plant them in early spring in moist soil. In the garden, place them 2 feet apart and they'll spread in all directions to form a dense carpet about 2 to 4 inches tall and 12 to 18 inches across.
Creeping Jenny is a super popular houseplant 🌿 that is isn't challenging to grow and needs regular watering to thrive. They do best in long-lasting, direct light ☀️ and should be less than 1 foot from a window. Creeping Jenny likes soil that is well draining.
It grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Hardiness Zones 4 to 9, which encompass most of the United States. It prefers full sun and well-draining, moist soil, but the soil can be acid, alkaline, or neutral. It can grow in partial shade but not as fast as in full sun.
The main problem most people have with creeping Jenny is that it spreads. It is considered an invasive plant in many places and may not be available at your local nurseries. However, the golden or "Auria" varieties are not as invasive as the green. Keep it away from the yard even if you plant it in containers.
L. nummularia 'Aurea' can be planted almost any exposure from full sun to light shade, in moist soils. For the best color, situate the plant so it receives morning sun. It is rather shallow-rooted (so is fairly easy to dig out should it move into an area where it is unwanted), and does best with regular watering.
Creeping Jenny is not recommended for garden beds with other plants. Its aggressive nature will lead it to choke out other plant species if not managed properly. Creeping Jenny are a popular option for woodlands and large areas where it is free to grow as it pleases.
In colder regions, avoid fall pruning; the plant needs time to harden off before winter. Conversely, in milder areas, a pre-frost trim can keep it in check without risking the plant's health. Remember, Creeping Jenny is a robust plant, but even the hardy appreciate a little seasonal sensitivity.
If Creeping Jenny is established in your lawn it may take two seasons to eradicate it. The plant can be hand pulled where practical. All stems and stem fragments should be removed from the area to prevent the stems from rooting again in the soil. Prolonged submergence will kill Creeping Jenny.
In the garden, place them 2 feet apart and they'll spread in all directions to form a dense carpet about 2 to 4 inches tall and 12 to 18 inches across. Creeping jenny perennials can quickly spread and overrun other plants, so use containers or keep them away from other plants if overcrowding is a concern.
Lysimachia nummularia (Moneywort) is considered to be non-toxic to people, dogs, cats, and horses. In fact, Creeping Jenny is used in some forms of herbal medicine for treating a variety of ailments.
The low-maintenance creeping Jenny is a real insect magnet, as the groundcover provides plenty of food for bees and the caterpillars of butterflies. Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) is attractive not only in the garden, but also grown in pots or in the aquarium.
As its name suggests, creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) is a low-growing plant with long stems that spread outward. Its coinlike golden leaves are why it's commonly called moneywort. Creeping Jenny works well growing between stepping stones, where it will tolerate some foot traffic.
Creeping Jenny can be used in containers, hanging baskets, and rock walls or as a ground cover only where invasive spread is not a concern. It is not a good choice for borders or near lawns as it spreads too aggressively and is difficult to control.
Creeping Jenny is a versatile ornamental plant that provides pretty foliage that “creeps” along and spreads to fill in spaces. It can be aggressive and invasive, though, so growing creeping Jenny in a pot is a great way to enjoy this perennial without letting it take over the whole garden or flower bed.
Ease your mind with Creeping Jenny 🌿—a non-toxic plant that's safe around your curious kids and pets. Creeping Jenny is safe for adults, but may cause mild stomach upset. Immediate action needed for kids; monitor symptoms, call healthcare if ingested.
You can also dig up a clump of creeping jenny plants with roots and simply divide them. Another method for propagating creeping jenny: Make 2-inch stem tip cuttings just below a leaf or bud. Dip them in rooting hormone and put them in moist potting soil.
The fast-growing pennywort is often found as a ground cover on the edge of the pond. Lysimachia nummularia can also be kept in pots on the balcony and terrace - or as a houseplant.
Golden Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia): Because of its eye-catching bright green color, this trailing plant will really draw attention to window boxes. Perfect when paired with a variegated Coleus that has the same chartreuse flecked in its leaves. Will grow in full sun to full shade.
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