How to Get Rid of Creeping Charlie Organically

Our obsession with the well-manicured lawn has created an environment that is open to invasion by a number of plant pests and foes. One is a plant that looks like a great ground cover, at first.

Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea), is a low-growing perennial weed. Also known as also known as ground ivy and creeping jenny, Creeping Charlie loves moist, shady areas of the lawn and garden, but will invade sunny areas, too, if the lawn is thin.

If you have wondered why using Latin names to understand plants is important consider Creeping Charlie. Some call Creeping Charlie, Creeping jenny; however, creeping jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) is a different plant, often used as a ground cover.

One, Creeping Charlie you may want to get rid of the other could solve a landscaping problem.

You can recognize Creeping Charlie by its four-sided stems that grow to lengths of 15-30 inches. The roots form the nodes, where leaves join the stem.

Creeping Charlie looks a lot like the leaves of a more welcome plant, the common geranium. The leaves are round and scalloped, however, the Creeping Charlie’s leaves are considerably smaller than the leaves of the geranium.

The plant is early to flower and this may be one reason people accept it as a ground cover until it is threatening to take over. The lavender to blue flowers appear on 2 or 3-inch spikes.

If Creeping Charlie has invaded you lawn and you are look for a way to kill it, then before taking any drastic measures, develop a lawn maintenance regime.

Mowing, watering, aerating and dethatching will help. If possible and because Charlie likes shade keep shaded areas to a minimum. In general these measurements will give you a healthier lawn organically as they all encourage the production of a thicker grass which is then less threaten by invaders.

In the early stages, pulling Charlie out by the roots may help but do this as soon as you notice its arrival in your lawn. This brings us to one organic technique that helps in all cases, paying close attention to your lawn and garden. Noticing changes and identifying them before they spread will reduce problems later on.

Borax has been used as a spray to get rid of this persistent plant. To make a borax spray dissolve 10 ox of borax in 1.2 cup (4 oz) of warm water then dilute that solution is 2.5 gallons of water, will spray 1,000 square feet.

Proper lawn maintenance, paying attention to what is taking place in your lawn and removing invaders by hand as soon as they are spot are the first line in an organic program to kill Creeping Charlie.