Dichondra Species, Kidneyweed, Silver Pony's Foot

Just recently learned the name of this plant growing at the front steps. We love this as a ground cover for it's hardiness and low mainte...Read Morenance. It is not in shaded area and even exposed to hard sunlight for much of the day.
It is also a lovely color of reflective green with silver highlights to delight the eye. It may require some weeding out as a ground cover from time to time. Because it was planted near the driveway it gets stepped on at times but recovers fine.
We plan to spread it around in the future. Location south Austin, Texas.

I have seen Silver Ponyfoot here in Canada at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlingtlon, Ontario. It was growing in full sun, as a groun...Read Mored cover. We are zone 6b here.

I think the Zone number should be changed to Zone 8. I have had no trouble with it coming back from it's roots every year. I love it. I ...Read Moremake strange cubes and forms in the garden. It is very fun to play with in modern form building ways. It also looks great in the rock garden but I am a little wary of it touching my cactus. since I am on the rotting side of growing cactus. Once it gets established it goes to town. It drapes out of a pot and spills over the balcony and drips 8 feet . It sailed through 100 days of above 100 and very little rain. It likes my very alkaline dirt. Can't ask for more.

Silver pony-foot (Dichondra argentea) is also known as silver nickel vine and aluminum vine. It is a native plant that inhabits West Texa...Read Mores to southeastern Arizona and the Mexican states of Durango and Michoacan. In Mexico, its preferred habitat is on igneous substrates. It prefers alkaline to neutral pH soils, but is adaptable.

It is the only desert-adapted Dichondra, but does best as a cultivated plant with occasional irrigation especially during periods of drought. It requires well-drained soil if planted in the ground as a groundcover and is deer resistant in areas that are not overpopulated with deer. Silver pony-foot thrives in full sun to light shade and is winter hardy to 20-25° F.

Silver pony-foot is a herbaceous, perennial, semi to fully deciduous in winter, prostrate, creeping, trailing groundcover that seldom grows over 3" tall, but can spread to 6 feet. Silver pony-foot roots at the leaf nodes and spreads seeking available moisture. As shown in my photo, it grows into a dense ground cover that is useful in erosion control.

Covered with silver-gray hairs, the round or kidney-shaped, soft textured, silver-green, gray-green to bluish-gray-green leaves are 3/4- to 1-inch long. From May through August, tiny, inconspicuous creamy white blooms appear. Tiny seed capsules follow the blooms.

It is perfect for hanging baskets, as a ground cover, in window boxes, as a cascading plant over walls and even as a lawn (does not take frequent foot traffic).

Available cultivar: 'Silver Falls' has soft, pure silver-white foliage and stems.

'Emerald Falls', a cultivar of Dichondra repens, has soft deep green leaves and stems.