Creeping Jenny/Charly. creeping me out.

About 4 yrs. back hubby would mow the neighbor's yard for her. The mower must of picked up seeds from this plant (neighber was loaded with it) Now I've got it! It spreads by matting and has blue flowers w/ a yellow center in May. It creeps lower than Sedum and it loves mulch. Nothing is sacred to this plant. There are creeping Jennys & Charlies but is there a difference? Woe to the person who prizes their lawn....if this scourge gets into it good-bye lawn. It even crept along my flagstone pathways.

I have that. I call it "Creeping Crud Vine." I don't know how to get rid of it other than hand pulling, which doesn't really work very well.

I heard that putting Borax on it is an effective control.

I'd have to have a truck load of Borax to get rid of it. It's in my flower beds too, Will Borax kill anything else? So far I'm pulling.

To make sure we're talking about the same plant, here are links to

Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia): http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/677/index.html
Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea): http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2733/index.html

Borax (boron) can be an effective means of controlling Creeping Charlie - and any other boron-sensitive plant, as explained in this factsheet: http://www.extension.umn.edu/info-u/plants/BG522.html

However, the warning about its "staying power" should also be heeded - once you apply it, it won't break down like other herbicides do, so if you try to plant anything else that is boron-sensitive in this area, it probably won't fare too well. Most of the advice I've read says manual removal or weed-n-feed herbicides are the most effective means of eradicating it.

Ironically, I'm heading out right now to remove gallons of Creeping Charlie from a wildflower patch, along with poison ivy which has also infested the area....sigh.

Ah. Mine's a Charlie, not a Jenny.

Mine's a Charlie, too. Boron won't work for my because I really don't have any lawn to speak of. Just beds with winding flagstone pathways. Thanks Terry for the links. At least now I know what this thing is.

I've got Creeping Jenny, which I planted my self 4 or 5 years ago, and now deeply regret. It is crowding out my iris and growing into the grass. Pulling it up just seems to spread it more because any bit left behind becomes a new plant. I was thinking of pulling out all the iris this fall and laying down layers of newspaper covered with mulch in hopes of killing it all. Anyone else have any other ideas?

here's a note of interest, creeping Charlie, aka Gill over the ground, was used in France to flavor ale. I'd be happy to supply any amount to anyone with a micro-brewery.

No matter how much I pull it in the early spring hoping to get rid of it....it always comes back....I think it is simply impossible to get rid of. Unless you spray it with a strong concerntration of herbicide that will kill everything else also. The charlie will still be back however!