Creeping Jenny

Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia)

Moneywort, Creeping Loosestrife

Full sun to part shade, wet to moderately moist; tolerates clay and poorly drained soils; pH 5.5–7.5; one of few groundcovers that actively thrives in consistently wet areas.

5–8 cm tall, spreading indefinitely by prostrate stems rooting at nodes; blooms May–July with small bright yellow cup-shaped flowers; semi-evergreen, foliage persists into winter in Zone 6b/7a.

Stem sections separated and replanted root immediately without special treatment; one of the easiest groundcovers to propagate.

Native region: Not native to Tennessee; native to Europe; naturalized in wet ditches, stream banks, and moist disturbed areas across Tennessee and much of the eastern United States.

Creeping jenny is one of the most useful groundcovers for the chronically wet, low spots in Middle Tennessee landscapes that defeat most other plants — areas that collect water after heavy rain, poorly drained clay flats, and pond margins. The golden cultivar 'Aurea' is the most widely grown form and provides strong color contrast in shaded wet areas. In drier conditions it grows more slowly and has less vigor; not a good candidate for well-drained slopes. Can spread aggressively into adjacent lawn areas via stolons; edging or hard borders contain it. Listed as a species of concern for wetland spread in some states — avoid planting directly adjacent to natural creek corridors in the Columbia area.