Common Name: creeping Jenny
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Zone: 3 to 9
Height: 0.00 to 0.25 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 3.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to July
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Suggested Use: Ground Cover, Naturalize, Rain Garden
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Tolerate: Wet Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil
Easily grown in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Plants prefer some part afternoon shade in the St. Louis area, but flowers and foliage usually show best yellow color in full sun. Plants spread by rhizomes and self-seeding in optimum growing conditions to form large colonies. Stems may root where leaf nodes touch the ground. Plants tend to be less invasive if grown in lean, somewhat dry soils, however best performance is in moist fertile soils.
Lysimachia nummularia, commonly called creeping jenny or moneywort, is a rhizomatous perennial that is exceedingly short (to 2-3" tall) and exceeding swift afoot, typically creeping to 3' or more wide. It is native to Europe, but has naturalized in parts of eastern North America. 'Goldilocks' is a cultivar that features rounded golden yellow leaves (to 3/4" diameter) and axillary, cup-shaped, five-petaled, bright yellow flowers (to 1” across). Flowers bloom in late spring, with some continued flowering to mid-summer. Genus name honors Lysimachus (661-281 B.C.), Macedonian King of Thrace. Specific epithet comes from the Greek word for coin (nummus) in reference to leaf shape.
No serious insect or disease problems. Lysimachia is susceptible to rust and leaf spots. Plants should be closely monitored to avoid unwanted spread.
Low-growing ground cover for moist areas. Effective in bog gardens, water gardens, pond peripheries and along stream banks. Trail over the edge of planters, hanging baskets or containers. Run along the top of a stone wall. Spreading habit is a deterrent to use in borders.