Ornamental · Primulaceae
Creeping Jenny
Lysimachia nummularia
A flat carpet of round gold coins on threadlike stems, thriving in moist ground in sun or shade and creeping hard enough to need an edge.
Full sun
Every 2–5 days
USDA 3–9
2–4 in · 5–10 cm
Overview
Creeping Jenny lays down a low, flat sheet of small, round coin-shaped leaves set in pairs along thin trailing stems that press to the soil and spill over pot rims and walls. In the golden forms the leaves glow a chartreuse to gold, almost translucent in strong light, while the plain green species holds them a flat, deeper green. A member of the primrose family with a taste for damp ground, it lines rain gardens and pond edges where the soil stays wet.
The same stems that make it easy drive its reach. Each node that touches the soil throws down fine roots, so a single plug weaves into a tight, ankle-low mat in one season, and the leafy front keeps inching outward. It is hardy from USDA zone 3 to 9 and endures cold to -40°F (-40°C), so the green carpet returns year after year. In early summer, around June, small yellow cup-shaped flowers open low among the round leaves.
That same creeping habit is the catch. The green species slides its stems out of the garden and roots its way into wetlands, stream banks, and moist woodlands, and it is listed as invasive or regulated in parts of the US. Held to a clear edge or a container, the mat reads as a clean, low sheet of color. Loosed near water, those rooting stems turn it into a problem.
Care
The short version: keep the soil steadily moist, then let full sun light the round leaves to their brightest gold or let shade hold them a cooler, scorch-free green. It sits in rich, damp soil, takes feeding rarely, and the creeping stems want trimming so the mat does not stray.
Light
The round leaves color according to the light, from full sun to full shade. Full sun drives them to their brightest gold, but it scorches the thin margins where the soil dries, so shade holds the foliage a greener, sturdier green at less risk.
Water
The soil stays moist to wet at all times, since the fine roots run shallow and the leaves wilt fast once it dries. It drinks every 2 to 5 days, more in heat, and the low mat sits happily even in shallow standing water along a pond edge.
Soil
It roots best in rich, damp, humus-rich soil that stays moist around its shallow web of roots. Beyond that it takes clay, loam, sand, or shallow rocky ground across a wide pH of 5.5 to 8.0, and the mat shrugs off the occasional flood.
Temperature
The foliage is cold-hardy, holding from about -40°F to 100°F (-40°C to 38°C). That toughness across USDA zones 3 to 9 is part of why the rooting stems spread so freely once they take.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor air around the leaves is plenty, with no number to chase. The mat responds to wet feet, not damp air, so the soil beneath the foliage matters more than the atmosphere above it.
Feeding
The leaves ask for little. A single feed of balanced general-purpose fertilizer in spring keeps this low-maintenance mat lush, and many gardeners give none at all.
Pruning
The creeping stems take a trim or shear at any time to hold the mat to its edge. Stems that have rooted past the line lift out, and that pruning is the main work the foliage asks for.
Repotting
In a container, the mat gets refreshed or divided once crowded. The signs are leaves spilling over the rim, a thinning, bare center, and roots packing the pot, at which point dividing the clump brings the cover back full.
Size & spacing
Each plant stays ankle-low at 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) tall while its stems run 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm) wide and keep reaching. Space the leafy starts for that quick creep, and leave the mat room or a firm edge to run against.
When to plant
Creeping Jenny is hardy and easy about its timing. The leafy starts go in during spring once the frost has passed, or in fall, and small yellow cup-shaped flowers open low among the round leaves 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 its stems travel, not whether the plant lives, since the mat is tough. What rewards a close look is the creeping front pushing past its edge and the gold leaves bleaching at the rim. Match the foliage to the notes below, then act before a runner or a dry spell gets ahead.
Thread-thin stems root down and the mat keeps creeping outward
The plant's defining trait is its relentless creeping spread, strongest in the plain green form. Every slender stem presses a node against the soil and sends out fine roots there, and a broken length will root just the same, so the low mat thickens and pushes past its edge into wetlands and stream banks. Lift the long runners and their rooted joints whole, shear the matted stems back to a clean line, and sink a root barrier or pot near any natural water. The golden 'Aurea', with its glowing coin leaves, creeps a little more slowly and reads well in beds.
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
Pustules, spots, and chewed gaps break up the leaf cover
Damp air brings two marks to the foliage: rust and leaf spot diseases that stipple the round leaves with pustules and blotches, and slugs that gnaw ragged holes and can graze a mat down to bare stems where they crowd in. Thin the dense leaf cover for moving air and pluck the worst-marked leaves, then set traps or baits or lift the slugs off by hand. The stripped stems leaf back out and the green cover closes over again.
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 coins pale to straw and curl crisp along the rim
When the round gold leaves wash out and brown along their rims, the cause is sun scorch on a plant whose roots run shallow and dry fast. Full sun lights the leaves to their brightest chartreuse-gold, yet hot dry sun bleaches that color toward straw and crisps the thin leaf margins wherever the soil has gone short of water. Steady soil moisture holds the gold, and afternoon shade in hot southern climates spares the edges.
Fix:
- Keep soil consistently moist
- Provide afternoon shade in hot southern climates
- Water more often during heat
Toxicity
A gentle note for homes with animals: creeping Jenny is not toxic. Its soft round leaves are 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 foliage. The thing to watch is its creeping spread, not any poison, so the work is holding the mat in rather than keeping it from curious mouths.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
A cat is in no danger from the round leaves, which carry no toxin and keep the plant off the ASPCA list. Should one chew through a mouthful of the soft foliage, it may drool or be briefly sick, the sign of a plain upset stomach rather than poisoning.
Dogs None
A dog is just as safe nosing through the low leaves. A large mouthful of the tender foliage can leave it briefly off-color, and no worse than that.
Horses Safe
No toxicity is on record in horses, so a horse cropping grass beside a patch of the trailing stems faces no poisoning risk.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can crop the small rounded leaves without harm. As with any fresh green, a slow introduction lets the gut settle to it.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep meet no known toxic risk in the leafy mat of this groundcover.
Birds Safe
Birds picking among the coin leaves and threadlike stems face no toxic threat at all.
People Safe
Running a hand through the cool, low foliage carries no risk, and gloves are a matter of choice. The plant is grown for the look of its gold and green leaves, not for eating, so there is no call to taste 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 for the color of the round leaves rather than the plain green species. These two turn up most often.
'Aurea' (Golden Creeping Jenny)
Its small, rounded coin-shaped leaves burn bright chartreuse to gold under full sun and deepen to a cool lime green in shade, and the trailing stems creep just a shade more slowly than the green species while still knitting fast across the ground.
'Goldilocks'
A very low golden-yellow mat that reaches 1 to 3 feet across, its small rounded leaves sometimes losing the gold and slipping back to plain green over time.
How to propagate
Creeping Jenny all but roots itself, the same trick that drives its spread, since the stems strike root wherever they lie. Any of three easy methods gives a rooted plant in a few weeks.
DivisionEasy
Spring or fall · A few weeks
Division in spring or fall is the simplest route, since the matted stems already carry roots at their nodes. Lift a clump from the edge of a patch, tease apart the rooted, leafy chunks, and set them back in the soil, and they take hold within a few weeks.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Spring through summer · A few weeks
Cuttings root with no coaxing from spring through summer. Press a healthy leafy stem flat against moist soil and fine roots break from the nodes where leaf meets stem, giving a rooted plant in a few weeks.
LayeringEasy
Growing season · A few weeks
Layering unfolds on its own through the whole growing season. Each trailing stem lays itself flat and roots wherever a leaf node presses into damp ground, anchoring within a few weeks with nothing asked of you.
Myths
Creeping Jenny is a tidy, well-behaved groundcover you can plant anywhere.
The plain green species is a fast, dense mat-former whose every stem node strikes root, lets the foliage slip out of the garden, and carries it into wetlands, stream banks, and moist woodlands, and it is listed as invasive or regulated in parts of the US. Place it with care and hold it within an edge, and choose the gentler golden 'Aurea', whose gold coin leaves earn their place in a bed.