Ornamental · Primulaceae
Creeping Jenny
Lysimachia nummularia
A low gold carpet that thrives in moist ground and shade or sun, and runs hard enough that you have to keep it in bounds.
Full sun
Every 2–5 days
USDA 3–9
2–4 in · 5–10 cm
Overview
Creeping Jenny is a low, fast groundcover with round coin-shaped leaves that hug the soil and trail over the edges of pots and walls. The golden forms light up shade with chartreuse to gold foliage, while the plain green species stays a deeper green. It belongs to the primrose family and loves damp ground, which is why you see it tucked into rain gardens and along pond edges.
What makes it easy also makes it a handful. The stems root at every node they touch, so a small plug knits into a dense mat in a season, and that mat keeps pushing outward. It is hardy from USDA zone 3 to 9 and shrugs off cold down to -40°F (-40°C), so once it settles in, it stays.
The catch is its appetite for spreading. The green species escapes gardens and invades wetlands, stream banks, and moist woodlands, and it is listed as invasive or regulated in parts of the US. Grown with a clear edge or in a container, it is a useful, good-looking carpet. Left loose near water, it becomes a problem.
Care
The short version: give it steady moisture and either sun for the brightest gold or shade for greener, scorch-free leaves. Plant it in rich, damp soil, feed it rarely, and trim the runners so it does not wander where you don't want it.
Light
It grows in everything from full sun to full shade. Full sun brings out the brightest gold color, but it scorches the leaves where the soil runs dry, so shade gives you greener, tougher foliage with less risk.
Water
Keep the soil moist to wet at all times, since the roots sit shallow and the plant suffers fast when it dries out. Water it every 2 to 5 days, more in heat, and know that it is happy even in shallow standing water at a pond edge.
Soil
Plant it in rich, damp, humus-rich soil that holds moisture. It is not picky beyond that and takes clay, loam, sand, or shallow rocky ground, across a wide pH of 5.5 to 8.0, and even shrugs off the odd flood.
Temperature
This is a cold-hardy plant, comfortable from about -40°F to 100°F (-40°C to 38°C). That toughness through USDA zones 3 to 9 is part of why it spreads so freely once established.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity is fine and there is no number to chase. What it cares about is wet feet, not damp air, so focus on the soil rather than the atmosphere.
Feeding
It barely needs feeding. A single dose of balanced general-purpose fertilizer in spring is plenty for this low-maintenance groundcover, and many gardeners skip it entirely.
Pruning
Trim or shear the creeping stems any time you like to keep the patch contained. Pull out stems that have rooted beyond where you want them, since this is the main work the plant asks of you.
Repotting
In containers, refresh or divide it whenever it gets crowded. Watch for a mat spilling over the edges, a thinning center, or roots filling the pot, and split it then to keep it vigorous.
Size & spacing
Each plant stays low at just 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) tall but spreads 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm) wide, and it keeps going. Space plants with that fast spread in mind, and give it room or an edge to run against.
When to plant
Creeping Jenny is hardy and unfussy about when it goes in. Plant it in spring once the frost has passed, or in fall, and look for its small yellow cup-shaped flowers in early summer around June.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Spring after frost, or fall
- Harvest: Yellow cup-shaped flowers in early summer (around June)
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–9
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Most trouble with creeping Jenny is about where it goes rather than whether it lives. It is tough, so the real questions are keeping it in bounds and keeping the gold leaves from scorching. Match what you see below, then act before a runner or a dry spell gets ahead of you.
Stems run everywhere and the patch keeps escaping its bed
This is the plant's defining problem: aggressive vegetative spread, worst in the plain green species. The stems root at every node they touch and snap into fragments that resprout, so a patch crowds out neighbors and pushes into wetlands and stream banks. Dig out runners and rooted pieces completely, shear it back to hold the line, and use root barriers or a container near any natural water. Where you want it for looks, plant the gentler golden 'Aurea' form instead.
Fix:
- Pull or dig out runners and rooted stem fragments, removing all pieces since fragments resprout
- Shear or mow back regularly to confine the patch
- Install root barriers or grow in containers to limit spread
- Choose the less-aggressive golden 'Aurea' form for ornamental use
Foliage spots, rusts, or gets chewed ragged
Two things hit this plant in damp settings: rust and leaf spot diseases, and hungry slugs that can nearly strip a mat where they gather. Open the planting up for better airflow and pull off badly marked leaves, then deal with slugs using traps, baits, or hand removal. Plants usually shrug off the slug damage and grow back.
Fix:
- Improve air circulation and avoid prolonged leaf wetness for disease
- Remove and discard badly affected foliage
- Control slugs with traps, baits, or hand removal
Gold leaves bleach and crisp at the edges in hot sun
This is sun scorch on a shallow-rooted plant that hates drying out. The brightest gold color comes in full sun, but hot dry sun burns the leaf edges brown wherever the soil runs short of water. Keep the ground steadily moist and give it afternoon shade in hot southern climates.
Fix:
- Keep soil consistently moist
- Provide afternoon shade in hot southern climates
- Water more often during heat
Toxicity
Good news for households with animals: creeping Jenny is not toxic. It is absent from the ASPCA poison lists and safe around cats, dogs, and other pets, with at most a mild stomach upset if one eats a lot of leaves. The real caution here is invasiveness, not poison, so the job is containing it rather than keeping it away from curious mouths.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Not toxic to cats and absent from the ASPCA list. A cat that chews a lot of foliage might drool or vomit, but that is simple stomach upset rather than poisoning.
Dogs None
Safe for dogs as well. Eating a big mouthful of leaves can leave a dog with a passing upset stomach, and nothing worse than that.
Horses Safe
No toxicity is reported in horses, so grazing near a patch is not a poisoning worry.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can nibble the foliage without harm. As with any new green, introduce it gradually so their gut adjusts.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep face no known toxic risk from this groundcover.
Birds Safe
Poses no toxic threat to backyard or wild birds that peck around the leaves and stems.
People Safe
Handling and incidental contact are safe, and gloves are optional. The plant is grown for looks, not eating, so there is no need to make a meal of it.
No special handling needed for toxicity; gloves optional. The practical caution is containing its aggressive spread, not poisoning.
Varieties
Most gardeners grow one of the golden selections rather than the plain green species. These are the two you will run into most.
'Aurea' (Golden Creeping Jenny)
Its coin-shaped leaves glow chartreuse to gold in full sun and soften to lime green in shade, and it spreads a touch less hard than the green species while still covering ground fast.
'Goldilocks'
A very low golden-yellow groundcover that runs 1 to 3 feet across, with rounded leaves that can revert to green over time.
How to propagate
Creeping Jenny practically propagates itself, which is both its charm and its warning. Any of three easy methods gives you new plants in a few weeks.
DivisionEasy
Spring or fall · A few weeks
The easiest route is division in spring or fall. Lift a clump from the edge of a patch, pull apart the already-rooted chunks, and replant them, and they settle in within a few weeks.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Spring through summer · A few weeks
Cuttings root with no fuss from spring through summer. Lay a healthy stem on moist soil and it strikes roots at the nodes, giving you a rooted plant in a few weeks.
LayeringEasy
Growing season · A few weeks
Layering happens on its own all through the growing season. The trailing stems self-layer wherever a node meets damp ground, rooting in a few weeks with nothing asked of you.
Myths
Creeping Jenny is a tidy, well-behaved groundcover you can plant anywhere.
The green species is an aggressive mat-former that roots at every node, escapes gardens, and invades wetlands, stream banks, and moist woodlands, and it is listed as invasive or regulated in parts of the US. Site it carefully and keep it contained, and reach for the gentler golden 'Aurea' form in ornamental beds.