Ground-ivy

Family: Lamiaceae. Distributed in the temperate regions of Eurasia and in North America. A common plant in forests, along shaded riverbanks, in shrubs, and in meadows.

Perennial herbaceous plant with a pleasant scent, forming low dense mats 5-20 cm high. Roots thin, fibrous. Stems, 20-50 cm long, creeping or slightly ascending, with numerous shoots that root at the nodes. Leaves kidney-shaped or rounded-kidney-shaped, crenate at the margin, up to 3 cm long, on short petioles. Flowers in groups of 3-4 in the axils of the middle and upper stem leaves, bluish-lilac, 10-18 mm long. Flowers in May–June, fruits ripen in July. In cultivation usually a variegated form.

Position: tolerates both shade and sun equally well. Cover height in sun - 5-10 cm, in shade - 8-20 cm. In open locations the ground-ivy mats should be protected from more competitive weed species. In turn, ground-ivy itself, due to its tendency to spread rapidly, can be hazardous to other groundcover plants.

Soil: undemanding, but grows better on loose fertile soils with adequate moisture.

Propagation: the plant is easily propagated by seed and self-seeds, but it is not a problematic weed since it is easily removed with a single weeding. Seeds can be sown in late autumn or spring. It also propagates during the season by cuttings or layering - by separating rooted sections of the stem. Cuttings root easily in a cold frame. Has a high propagation yield.

Use: a valuable groundcover, primarily a decorative-foliage plant for shady locations. Ground-ivy is decorative throughout the season and its leaves do not die back in winter. Can be used to create large lawn-like patches under tree canopies or in glades where the grass cover is relatively sparse.