Calyptocarpus Species, Creeping Cinderella-Weed, Horseherb, Prostrate Lawnflower, Straggler Daisy

I found a small patch of this growing in my backyard when we moved in 4 years ago. I've been mowing the St. Augustine grass around it to ...Read Moreencourage it to spread ever since. It has taken over about 1/3 of my yard at this point. It's drought-tolerant, shade-tolerant, and there's no ugly dormancy phase. It looks nice year round. Looks great around paths & rarely needs mowed. Local nurseries sell it as a native groundcover.

The person who said it produces burrs is mistaken. There are several weeds in Texas that do produce burrs, mainly sandbur and hedge parsley in my yard. It's possible one of these was mixed in with the horseherb

I think people just generally have disdain for any plant that they did not pay for & plant (any "volunteers").
How many times to p...Read Moreeople go into nurseries or ask gardening experts for an evergreen (in many areas), shade-tolerant, drought-resistant groundcover that is soft to walk on, doesn't need mowing, & will stand up to foot traffic? But then they go and pull up HorseHerb in their own yard, which meets all those criteria, and flowers to boot. (Horseherb is evergreen in areas with warming winters, will die back during freezes.) An organic gardening guru friend that taught classes at her home had a parking area for guests/students that was covered in HorseHerb. It even withstood cars parked on it!
I guess many people just inherently don't value a hardy native volunteer, no matter how useful they are. If they didn't pay money for it and plant it themselves, it must be bad. Such a wrong mindset.
I have seen people talk about how invasive this is. #1, it's a native, so it can be aggressive, but not invasive. And #2, it's a groundcover! Aggressiveness is a requirement in a groundcover! And #3, it's NOT aggressive in my lawn. I have one small patch of it, and keep hoping it will spread. I would LOVE to have an entire yard of horseherb. But mine just sits right where it is, and does not spread at all. I have even bought flats, and then pots of it, none of which ever established. So, if you are lucky enough to have it spreading, just appreciate your good fortune!!

Should be considered invasive if trying to grow other grasses in sunny areas of your yard. Easily controlled with a light spray of gener...Read Moreal herbicide like Weed B Gone in areas that it it invades or is not wanted. Pulling and digging it are not an option in the yard once established - gardens and beds, yes.

That being said, it does make a good drought tolerant ground cover in shaded areas where nothing else will grow. Can crowd out St. Augustine and Bermuda if unchecked or not mowed.

Yes, this plant can be aggressive--because it is so happy in its native habitat. Still, it's hard to argue with a native plant that thri...Read Moreves without any special care or fuss. It is drought-tolerant, shade-tolerant, and can even take light foot traffic. It can also be mowed for use as a lawn substitute ground cover. As for controlling its aggressive habit, simply use a small garden tool to remove unwanted plants by digging up the central root of each individual plant. The bare root plants are easy to transplant and re-establish elsewhere.