I don't have a picture so that will make it harder.
The leaves are sort of ivy shaped but not shiny. They are on the small size can be solid green, two tone green or cream and green. They look almost like watercolor paint on the two toned ones. They are blooming now and bloom with a 4 petal small white flower that has a tall yellow center. They are growing in shade, maybe with some dappled sun.
My neighbor has these and I LOVE them but she has no idea what thy are and said they really just started spreading well this year. I have no clue how to even ty and figure out what they are. Does my description ring a bell with any experts out there??
This message was edited Jun 21, 2006 9:22 PM
This message was edited Jun 21, 2006 9:30 PM
Can you help me figure out what this groundcover is?
Hi pegzhere,
This is the only one that I could find that matches your description:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2164/index.html
Maybe?
Erynne
Bingo! That is it - thank you! After reading about it though I will have to think long and hard about trying it.
They grow nicely in pots as long as they're kept very moist. They will look a little bedraggled if kept too dry. It is probably best kept outdoors in a hanging basket or on a patio so the roots can't come out the drain holes and get into the ground. If you keep the soil moist, you'll only need a few plants (or pieces of a plant) to fill out a large pot in the next few months.
I am actually looking for an aggressive groundcover, though. I might try and use it but restrict the root area as suggested in some places I found online. I don't want to not have anything else BUT this. There were some positives on it and my neighbor loves it....
Have you noticed its smell yet? Some people think that it stinks terribly and others think that it smells like lemons or oranges. I don't know if this is because different strains have different smells or if it is one of those things that people just perceive differently, like the taste of coriander leaves/cilantro. I think it smells pretty good, like lemon dishwashing detergent. If you haven't yet, tear a leaf off next time you see it and crush it up.
I haven't noticed the smell myself but in reading about it it seems some of it smells citrus-y and some smells almost like deisel fuel. I'll have to check out my neighbor's to see since in all likelihood if ever decide to use this somewhere I will take some from her. One description talked about it smelling of tangerine - which I would love, Deisel fuel though??? YIKES!
Do you have some planted Greg?
Be really careful with this plant - it will take over! I had a couple of small pots I had put in a flower bed - still in the pots - when a friend of mine told me how invasive it was. I decided not to plant them but just let them stay in the pots with a saucer underneath - then I found volunteers that somehow "jumped the pot" and rooted in that area. I thought I had pulled it all and then last week I had a huge, old holly bush removed, and there it was - growing at the base of the holly stump. 'Way up under where the holly was! I would never have found it there until it was too late...
I still have it - but I am keeping it securely in a pot on a concrete patio...
I am so sad that such a pretty plant that would fit my needs so well is so mean :(
You could try lamium instead. It spreads quickly and is easy to grow in the shade. It's also easy to pull out if it gets out of bounds because it's roots are so shallow.
I just bought 2 kinds of lamium yesterday because I have heard/read just that very thing Katie - thanks for the heads up!
My area is about 15 yds. x 5 yds. in size so I hope to use a few different groundcovers when all is said and done.
Lamium is a lovely idea! I put in one little piece that my neighbour gave me last year and boy is it ever filling in nicely; the flowers are pretty too! This year I've planted some Ajuga reptans "Burgundy Glow" and it too is growing well, though I'll have a better idea about it's spreading abilities in my garden by next year.
Here's my lamium:
If you like a little more colour, here is the A.reptans (pic is when it was newly planted):
I grew the Chameleon Plant last year in a pot, but I haven't let it into my beds or into my yard. It's a little too eager for my tastes, but I do like the way it looks in a pot.
-Greg
I planted the Chameleon plant 3 years ago and I'm still trying to get rid of it. It's pretty, but it runs all over. I wouldn't have minded if it had spread into a nice patch (even a big one), but it just popped up in little bits all over the place, sometimes 3 feet from the original plant. It was just a mess. Almost impossible to eradicate unless you dig up the bed and carefully remove - by hand - every single tiny little piece of root. (Can you tell I have strong feelings, here?) A monster, IMHO.
Lesley
If it's in an area that is not very moist, it spreads much more slowly. Also, if it does not get at least a bit of direct sun, it will be just green with some white on the edges. As for the 'aroma', it stinks in my opinion. How anyone can remotely get citrus from this scent is a wonder to me. Very pungent. Still, the color is great and it does form a nice dense mat. Great at the edges of my pond as well. I will try to post a photo of my mass planting.
Victor
I love the Chameleon Plant. I have it along a pathway where it gets hot afternoon sun. I mow it, walk on it, weed-eat it and spray with Round-up when needed. It is in an area where it can take over without being a problem. It is hot and dry in that spot and usually looks pretty. To me it has the smell of freshly sliced cucumbers. I gave some to a neighbor who planted it beside a creek and it went everywhere. She didn't like it in her area but still loves mine.
Betty
Don't let people frighten you off planting a good vigorous plant like this one. I have it in my garden and love it. It does grow and spread, but I'd much rather spend my time trimming, weeding and removing excess growth than waiting for poor sick dreadful looking little 'well behaved' plants to grow. I suppose it depends whether you like to be active in the garden or just sit back and look at it from the porch. Houttuynia cordata is also edible, it's an important herb used in salads and soups in Vietnam and Cambodia. I use it on cooking and like the taste. A great plant, I highly recommend it.
Peg,
I live just across the river, and have grown the chamelon plant. All I can say is "BUYER BEWARE"!
Whatever you do, if you decide to plant in the ground, DON'T water much.
I can guarantee you , in our area, it will go nuts. It took me 5 years to get rid of it.
I really hated that, too, as I loved the looks of it , and to me, the smell was heavenly. But, alas, I insist on tidy beds, and these crawled over edging and threatened to take over part of my beautiful lawn.
If I find myself pining for them again, they will go in a container-for sure!
DeannaV
Thanks for the info!! We're on the same side of the river ;)
My MIL gave me an old half barrel and I think I will plant some in that and set it somewhere in the garden. I love the smell of my neighbors', too. There must be very different smelling species I guess - I have read some say it smells of deisel fuel! I plan to take some of hers though so I will know what I get. Thanks again!
If you crush a leaf it will have an orange/citrus smell. They do like lots of water, but I love them; just wished mine were doing better.
I am in the diesel fuel catagory on this one -- STINKS! It can go head to head with English Ivy, though, soit does get some bonus points for that.
Interesting that no one has grown this or lamium for a longer time than a couple or three years. I have had the Hootenanny plant (never could spell it) for 15 years -- trying to get rid of it for 14 of those 15 years and I still have to pull out the Round Up every year. I am not kidding!
I have had Lamium for 25 years -- it has swallowed whole big hostas in a single season. It has swallowed my entire shade garden and is now working on my next door neighbor's. Last I saw it was engulfing his boxwoods. It can outpace English Ivy, but it doesn'tkill it maybe because English Ivy is evergreen? This is a plant - First 3 years it sleeps, then it creeps for maybe 3 more years and then LOOK OUT! The kind I have might be named Herrman's something and has yellow flowers. Oddly enough friends have wanted plants and have no luck transplanting them. I think you have to make cuttings and root them. If I got serious about getting rid of it, I might find it comes right up, but Ihaven't really tried.
Suzy
Well, thanks for the invasive information. Just what I'm looking for. You see, nothing grows invasively in my soil (even ammended), so I have to get invasive type plants for them to live. My chameleon plants were planted Fall 2005 and are barely alive, very scraggley (is that a word?).
Yeah, they're sneaky that way. Like I said, for three years they'll look like harmless little plants, then for about 3 years they look like they'll survive after all -- after that.....LOOKOUT! LOL.
Interestingly, I have a lot of plants here which I love and adore that Plant Files says are invasive -- Thalictrum, Adenophora, well , a lot. I have also had these 15-20 years and they are in no way invasive. I must be a poor gardener!
Suzy
It seems like a lot of people have very different experiences with plants that can be invasive. Literally from yard to yard. I have 2 neigbors with the chameleon. One can't control it and the other for years sprayed the perimeter around where she wanted it with round-up over and over and it never has crossed that line. In spring I am going to take some chameleon from them but put it in an aged half barrel in my garden. Theirs has the nice citrus smell and looks so pretty I had to figure out a way to have some!! I also added 3 different kinds of lamium so I will have to keep watch over them. Interestingly, one is Herman's Pride and was recommended to me by a friend that has it in her garden and found it not to invasive at all. She is a master gardener and has had it many years so hopefully I will have similar results. I do need it to be somewhat invasive as the area is HUGE and my goal is to not have to mulch. But I also have gotten into hosta and have a lot just added and don't want them to get swallowed!!!
Is this http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/31503/index.html the lamium you are talking about? I've never seen or heard of it before. Any idea where to find it? Never seen at any garden store around here (that I know of).
This is the one:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/51501/index.html
I've never found 'Herman's Pride' to be invasive nor aggressive. However, there is a look-alike - 'Silver Spangled' (aka 'Silver Spangles') http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/80207/index.html that IS invasive/aggressive, more of a "runner", not as tall as 'Herman's Pride', and spreads rapidly. However, if your "goal is to not have to mulch", 'Silver Spangled' would definitely fit the bill.
peg, I have to jump in here, about 'Herman's Pride'-especially since we're neighbors.
I've had HP for approx 12 years-2 clumps-and they have never expanded more than 12-14inches, per clump. I have them in a fairly dry shade bed, but do soak them ocassionally.
They have been an extremely dependable performer, with no special attention.
Deanna
Thanks for the link. I am going to try and stay away from invasive for now since I am so new to gardening and don' want anything that might hurt my hostas.
Deanna we'll have to compare more notes. I have 5 HP plants and planted them about 9" apart so opefully they will grow to a nice large sized clump.