Even though their leaves are pretty, these plants can suffocate your flowers and take over your backyard if you don’t keep an eye on them.
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Invasive ground cover plants are the uninvited garden guests that never want to leave. They grow roots and squat stubbornly in your flower beds, spreading out to cover your other flowers or taking over your lawn. In some cases, these pernicious intruders can even threaten the structure of your house.
Bindweed, also called Convolvulus arvensis, is one of the most difficult invasive plants to get rid of. It grows around my plants and bushes and up the trellis on my fences. Some people may like its white, trumpet-shaped flowers, but I think they’ll overpower the carefully chosen and planted plants in my garden beds.
We want to help you stop fighting your backyard over the invasive ground cover plants that are threatening to cover your flower beds in a carpet of green. If you want an easy-to-take-care-of garden, we can tell you what to avoid and what to do if your ground cover foliage is getting out of hand. ( credit: Iva Vagnerova / Getty s).
Invasive plants are a major issue for gardens, parks, and natural areas. Certain species readily spread and outcompete native plants, completely taking over an area. One aggressive invader to watch out for is lesser celandine, an invasive ground cover with cheerful yellow flowers that blooms in spring. This rapidly spreading perennial weed is very difficult to control once established.
What is Lesser Celandine?
Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna or Ranunculus ficaria) is a perennial plant in the buttercup family that emerges early in spring to form dense colonies. This invasive ground cover originated in Europe and West Asia. It was introduced to North America as an ornamental garden plant.
The name celandine comes from the Greek word chelidon meaning “swallow.” This refers to the plant’s early spring blooming period when migratory swallows return. Lesser celandine is one of the first flowers to bloom in spring.
Identifying Lesser Celandine
This invasive ground cover has distinctive heart-shaped or kidney-shaped green leaves that emerge early in the growing season, sometimes even sprouting up through snow. The dark green leaves have a shiny waxy surface. They spread rapidly to form a dense carpet of foliage before other plants have started to grow.
One of the defining features of lesser celandine is its cheerful yellow flowers Each individual flower has between 8 and 12 symmetrical petals surrounding a slightly darker center The bright blooms rise above the leaves on single stalks, Peak flowering time is March to early May,
After blooming finishes, the foliage promptly dies back by mid to late spring. The leaves wither away by June, leaving behind bare ground that is prime real estate for other invasive weeds to colonize.
How Lesser Celandine Spreads
Lesser celandine spreads aggressively both by seed dispersal and vegetative reproduction. Each plant produces dozens of tiny bulblets underground. These bulblets easily separate from the parent plant and sprout new colonies. Even tiny root sections left in the soil after diggings can regenerate into full plants.
Animals also aid the spread by inadvertently carrying away the bulblets. Weeding and soil cultivation scatter pieces that take root in new locations. Running water and flooding spread floating fragments downstream to colonize riparian areas.
Negative Impacts of Lesser Celandine
While lesser celandine might seem like an attractive and harmless spring wildflower at first glance, it causes extensive ecological damage. This invasive ground cover grows rapidly to form dense carpets that completely crowd out native wildflowers, grasses, ferns, and tree seedlings.
Thick mats of foliage prohibit native plant growth by blocking sunlight and smothering plants attempting to emerge. Nutrients and moisture are monopolized by the shallow, fibrous root systems. Mycorrhizal fungi and other soil microbiota are altered.
Riparian areas with moist, nutrient-rich soils are especially vulnerable to lesser celandine invasion. It poses a threat to water quality and wildlife habitat along streams and in floodplain forests. Large infestations decrease biodiversity in woodlands and natural areas.
Controlling Lesser Celandine
Once established, eradicating lesser celandine is an uphill battle. The window of opportunity for treatment is narrow, makingtiming critical. There are several methods to try for controlling infestations:
Manual removal – Hand dig up small patches, carefully removing all root sections and bulblets. Place plant debris in trash bags. Repeat digging for several years.
Cutting/mowing – Removing aboveground growth early in spring may deplete root reserves. Cutting too late causes bulblets to spread.
Solarization – Cover patches with UV-stabilized plastic in summer to bake bulblets in soil. Repeat for a few years.
Herbicide application – Systemic glyphosate sprayed early in spring is effective but may also kill emerging native plants. Use aquatic formulations near waterways.
Smothering – Sheet mulching with cardboard and mulch suppresses growth when done before the plants emerge.
Grazing – Some livestock and wild geese will graze on the foliage and damage plants.
No single approach will eliminate lesser celandine in one season. An integrated strategy with persistence over several years provides the best results. Prioritize controlling small patches before they expand into dense colonies. Remove plants before they set seed.
Focus control efforts in early spring when identification is straightforward. Seek professional help for large infestations in high quality natural areas to minimize off-target damage. Stop plant debris from spreading to uninfested sites.
Native Alternatives to Lesser Celandine
Instead of introducing problematic lesser celandine to your garden, consider these native wildflowers that provide early season color:
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Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) – Delicate white and pink flowers on succulent stems.
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Wild ginger (Asarum canadense) – Bold evergreen leaves topped by unusual brownish-purple blooms pollinated by beetles. Thrives in partial shade.
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Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) – White flowers wrapped by lobed leaves. Blooms last just a few days in early spring.
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Trilliums (Trillium spp.) – Showy white, pink, or maroon spring-blooming woodland flowers.
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Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) – Crowds of sky-blue blooms nodding on tall stems in April. Needs consistently moist soil.
Check with native plant societies or conservation groups for recommendations of appropriate species for your particular setting. Support local ecosystem health by planting native wildflowers instead of invasive lesser celandine.
Common Periwinkle (Vinca minor) (Image credit: John C Magee/Getty Images)
This prettily named plant has glossy green oval leaves and dainty bell-shaped blue-violet flowers. Drought-tolerant, shade-loving and quick-spreading, periwinkle is often used as ground cover to suppress weeds. But it can become a threat to your yard itself if not kept under control warns Joe Gerrior, owner of a landscaping business. This plant spreads aggressively and can suffocate other vegetation. To manage it, manual removal is essential – pulling out the plants and their runners, getting as much of the root system as possible. ‘For larger infestations, apply a glyphosate-based herbicide cautiously, minimizing environmental impact,’ he advises.
Joe runs Gerrior Masonry & Landscape Construction Corp. , a family-owned business based in Woburn, Massachusetts. He has been doing work for both homes and businesses for more than 34 years and knows how to get rid of invasive plants.
Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon) (Image credit: Getty Images/Bryony van der Merwe / 500px)
This plant is easy to spot because it has yellow flowers and green and white leaves. It can grow quickly in shady places. Horticulturist Nathan Thorne warns that yellow archangel does very well in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 through 8. It is also very invasive, meaning that it takes over native ground covers and understory. “Herbicides should be used in the early spring and the plants should be pulled up by hand as a way to control it.” ’.
Nathan is an environmental horticulturist and CEO of Handy Flowers with over 15 years of expertise in garden restoration and invasive species management. He knows how to prevent them from proliferating and overwhelming natural flora.
10 Invasive (?) Ground Cover Plants You Need to Watch Out
FAQ
What invasive ground cover has a yellow flower?
What is creeping jenny invasive ground cover with yellow flowers?
What is the clover like ground cover with yellow flowers?
What are invasive ground cover plants?
Common Periwinkle (Vinca minor) Invasive ground cover plants are the uninvited garden guests that never want to leave. They take root and squat determinedly in your beds, spreading outwards and enveloping your other flowers or running rampant over your lawn. In some cases, these pernicious intruders can even threaten the structure of your house.
Are invasive ground cover plants destroying your property?
‘Invasive ground cover plants can ruin a property’s aesthetics and health, says Steve Schumacher, who owns a residential and commercial landscaping firm. ‘The lesser celandine, which has shiny, kidney-shaped leaves and yellow flowers, is prevalent in moist, shady areas, and can form dense mats that smother native plants.
Are there any non invasive groundcover plants?
There are other, noninvasive groundcover plants that would be a better option. Try planting the three-leaved stonecrop (Sedum ternatum). This low-growing perennial has fleshy, succulent-like leaves and small white flowers that bloom in the spring. It grows easily in average soils and grows well in both sun and partial shade.
Can invasive ground covers be replaced with native plants?
To do this, swap invasive ground covers for native plants that pose less risk to your yard and surrounding landscape. Native plants can be purchased at most landscaping centers. In some localities, you can even find garden centers that specialize exclusively in native plants.
Are yellow weeds invasive?
However, other small plants are typically recognized as weeds. These include dandelions, purslane, ragwort, and wood sorrel. Flowering weeds with yellow flowers can add a burst of color to any garden or landscape—wanted or unwanted. Many non-native plants are invasive; however, many yellow-flowering weeds benefit the ecosystem.
Should you plant invasive ground covers?
The best, of course, is to never plant invasive ground covers in the first place but if you already have them growing in your yard, get rid of them, or at least control their spread as much as possible to prevent the situation from getting worse, You might not be able to eradicate the plants—this takes time and repeated efforts.