In about every garden center in the country, and probably in as many gardens, gold creeping Jenny – aka moneywort – spills from seasonal containers or crawls along the ground.
Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’) is an attractive plant with bright gold leaves. (There’s also a green version but it doesn’t seem to be as popular.) Frequently called Goldilocks, it was long thought to be an annual. But creeping Jenny seems to do just fine as a perennial ground cover.
And that’s the problem. Creeping Jenny has taken to covering the ground beyond our garden’s borders into natural areas. The photo above shows it spreading in my garden. I’ll confess Goldilocks fell out of the blue ceramic container to take root on the ground.
Creeping Jenny spreads vegetatively and roots along nodes on the stems. It has yellow flowers, usually in summer, so the plant also spreads by seed. It is a fast grower and can form a dense mat in a season.
When pulling it would, try to get all the little bits and pieces. This plant is one of those where if you leave a piece, a new creeping Jenny will grow.
Alternatives
Annuals: Gold Mound sedum (S. mexicanum); Lemon Coral sedum (S. mexicanum). Below is Lemon Coral sedum, Dipt in Wine coleus and Sweet Caroline Bewitched at Midnight sweet potato vine,
Perennial: ‘Angelina’ sedum (S. rupestre); ‘Prima Angelina’ sedum (S. rupestre). Below is ‘Angelina’ sedum, an evergreen perennial that takes on red hues in winter.
