How to Grow Lysimachia Plants in your Garden

Gardener's HQ Guide to Growing Creeping Charlie, Creeping Jenny, Loosestrife, and Moneywort

Members of the Lysimachia plant genus are usually upright hardy perennials that usually reach from 30 to 90 cm (1 to 3 feet) in height. Some species however, are low growing, and can reach only 7 cm (3 inches) in height.

Lysimachia have lance or rounded shaped leaves. They bloom in the summer.

Golden Creeping Jenny

Depending on the individual species of Lysimachia, there is much variation in the flower type: ranging from small stellar shaped yellow flowers through to clusters of white flowers.

Commonly Grown Lysimachia Species

Lysimachia nummularia

Lysimachia nummularia
Lysimachia nummularia (Moneywort / Creeping Jenny / Twopenny Grass), photograph by Andreas Rockstein; CC.

Lysimachia punctata

Lysimachia punctata
Lysimachia punctata (Dotted Loosestrife / Large Yellow Loosestrife / Circle Flower), photograph by Tim Green; CC.

Lysimachia clethroides

Lysimachia clethroides
Lysimachia clethroides (Gooseneck Loosestrife), picture by Alex van Essen; CC.

Lysimachia Growing and Care Guide

Common Names: Creeping Charlie, Creeping Jenny, Loosestrife, Herb Twopence, Moneywort.
Life Cycle: Hardy perennial.
Height: 3 to 60 inches (8 to 150 cm).
Family: Primulaceae.
Native: Europe. Asia. North America.

Growing Region: Zones 3 to 9.
Flowers: Summer.
Flower Details: Yellow, white. Small. Star-shaped. Whorls. Clusters.
Foliage: Herbaceous. Lanceolate to oval. Green, yellow, olive, purple.

Sow Outside: Surface. Germination time: one to three months. Seeds should be sown flats in the autumn. Sink the flat into the ground in an area that offers shade, preferably close to a wall that faces north. Provide a glass/plastic covering.
Keep an eye on the flats to ensure that the soil remains moist and to check if seedlings have emerged.
After the seedlings have started to produce trails transplant them to their final location, at a distance of 16 to 20 (40 to 50 cm) apart.
Sow Inside: No.

Requirements and care: Full sunlight or partial shade (especially if soil is quite dry). Moist soil. Regular watering to maintain soil moisture. Cut back to the ground in autumn.
Propagate: by dividing in the spring in cooler areas, or the autumn in warmer areas.

Miscellaneous: Can become an invasive in the right conditions, control by removing new suckers or pulling up.
Named after a former king of Syria (Lysimachus) who pacified a crazy Ox by feeding it a Lysimachia plant.
The plant is attractive to many Lepidoptera members, including Dot moths and Angle shades.

How to Grow Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia Plants)

It is best to start growing Creeping Jenny and other Lysimachia outdoors from seeds in flats.

Sow the seed on the surface in the autumn. Next, sink the flat into a completely shaded part of the garden, and cover with glass.

It should take from one to three months for Lysimachia Creeping Jenny to germinate.

Once the seedlings of Lysimachia have grown large enough that they are beginning to trail, they can be transplanted into either a partially shaded or sunny part of the garden.

It is best to space Creeping Lysimachia species about 50 cm (20 inches) apart. They prefer to grow in a moist soil.

Caring for Creeping Jenny in the Garden

Once growing, Creeping Jenny pretty much looks after itself, so long as the soil is moist. In fact you may need to control it to stop it taking over the garden!

In the autumn Lysimachia species should be cut back to ground level.

If you do require to propagate more plants, then they should be divided in the spring in cold areas or in the summer in warmer areas.

I hope that you enjoyed this guide on how to grow Lysimachia plants. You may enjoy the following growing guides: Growing Mung Beans, How to grow Primrose, and the Cyclamen plant.