Most gardener have strong opinions about creeping Charlie , the sens more officially known asGlechoma hederacea . Some love it , claiming fawn Charlie providesfood for beesand a piquant , minty smell . Others wage war against this sess as though their lives calculate on its eradication .
Glechoma hederaceais an herbaceous groundcover repeated native to the United Kingdom , but it has get in North America for almost 200 years , creeping throughout most of the United States and southerly Canada . It spread quickly via stolons , horizontal stems that root word as they spring up along the ground . The industrial plant can well regrow from bantam pieces of root word that break off when you endeavor to pull it up , which is one of the reasons creeping Charlie is so difficult to remove .
When condition are right , creeping Charlie effortlessly crowds out other plants . It grows unspoilt in tone to part shade and in moist , worried filth . Conditions that are ideal for creeping Charlie are usually not estimable for turfgrass , which assist creep Charlie beat out the turf and become well established . Aside from overrun poorly wangle lawn , pussyfoot Charlie is also a common garden weed .
I ’m currently experience a personal critical point regarding creeping Charlie . Our small urban yard is surrounded by other yards , and these lawn and garden are full of creeping Charlie . It ’s unimaginable to patrol all of the boundary line , especially in the areas where my lawn is flat connected to the other lawn .
By the end of last fall , I bring in that most of my front “ lawn ” was in reality made up of creeping Charlie . I was briefly alarmed before also earn that this “ lawn ” had been increasingly easy to manage for all season , requiring niggling mowing and no watering whatsoever , while still remaining green enough that I had n’t noticed the alteration . The weed also hold up remarkably well to my dog ’s high - energy sprinting , which destroys the grass . I start to question if it was an acceptable alternative to my sad , half - hearted attempts at growing grass .
Eradication vs. Tolerance
Before you come after me with your hoes and garden forks , consider that theMinnesota Department of Natural ResourcesdoesnotcategorizeGlechoma hederaceaas a threat to healthy native plant communities ( although it is classified as an invasive works ) . It is n’t on any of Minnesota ’s noxious - weed leaning . It does n’t propagate much via seed , so it ca n’t spread as quickly as other incursive plants . As an early - flowering perennial , creeping Charlie can serve as a adequate source of nectar for bees , although it does n’t have pollen readily available for them .
Better Than Buckthorn
take , too , that creeping Charlie is often a less of two wickedness : its matlike natural covering can forestall other , nastier weeds from take hold . As someone who has pulled a lot of sess in a professional setting , I believe that creeping Charlie is one of the easier weeds to slay by bridge player , unless it gets wholly snarl in a large while of worthy groundcover . I would much rather run across creeping Charlie than sneak bellflower , ripple-grass , Canada thistle or quick grass .
In most garden mount , repeated weeding will control small-scale infestations . It will definitely take numerous attempt and will be easy when the soil is slightly moist . For my garden , I rely on other groundcover works to outcompete the creeping Charlie , and then I on a regular basis reconnoitre the garden border for any rogue Charlies .
For gardener who desire a well - manicured turfgrass lawn , this Mary Jane is a big problem than for those who find it contain within their garden . Maintaining healthy dumb turf that can herd out weeds is the most important agent for keeping it out of your lawn . For modest irruption , selective broadleaf herbicides such as 2,4 - 500 , triclopyr or dicamba are good options for blot spraying . TheUniversity of Minnesota Extensionrecommends triclopyr as the most effective of these three . However , do n’t spray these chemical over tree diagram root geographical zone , as trees can absorb them and be injure .
For now , I ’m rehearse tolerance . I know that I ca n’t hold on this plant from come in into my G unless I engage a full - fledged state of war on all of the wall neighborhood yards . While I might endeavor to improve my lawn ’s overall wellness , which should deter the creeping Charlie from being as vigorous as it is now , I also might just leave it alone as a down in the mouth - alimony relief for my turfgrass .
This article byLaura Schwarzoriginally appeared in the May / June 2020 government issue ofNorthern Gardener . Horticulturist and writer Laura Schwarz subsist in Minneapolis , where she works in garden figure , installation and sustainment .
