Who Am I?

by Candice Sherrill,
Master Gardener

Features:

• I am a perennial evergreen groundcover native to Central and South America.
• I will mature to a height 12 to 18 inches with a spread of 5 to 6 feet.
• My glossy, dark green leaves develop to 4 to 5 inches in length and have 3 to 5 shallow lobes. The lobes sometimes cause people to mistake me for ivy.
• I have an attractive trailing habit but don't like foot traffic. When planted, I quickly form a dense horizontal mat that can be cut back to near-ground level if I lose my compactness as I age.
• I tolerate sun and heat, but prefer at least partial shade here in Phoenix.
• Hard frost can cause me to die back to the ground, but I recover rapidly with the advent of warm weather.
• I have no reported insect or disease problems.
• My growth rate and the flower display depend on soil richness and watering regimen, but I will generally do well in sandy, well-drained soil and survive with bimonthly irrigation. I am also relatively salt tolerant.
• My hairy runner-like stems take root where nodes touch the ground, and it's easy to propagate me by placing cuttings from these stems in moist soil.
• I have small, 1-inch yellow composite flowers that may be reduced in number if I am grown in heavy shade. Otherwise I flower heavily from spring through summer, and may bloom year-round in warm climates.
• Landscapers generally recommended me in cases where the feel of a lush mini-oasis is desired, for erosion control on hillsides, to cover bare areas between widely spaced plantings, or for large raised planters or retaining walls where my stems can trail attractively and soften the look of brick and stucco finishes.

Still don't know who I am? Click here for an introduction.

Maricopa County Master Gardener Volunteer Information
Last Updated January 23, 2004
Author: Lucy K. Bradley, Extension Agent Urban Horticulture, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County
© 1997 The University of Arizona, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cooperative Extension in Maricopa County
Comments to Maricopa-hort@ag.arizona.edu 4341 E. Broadway Road, Phoenix, AZ 85040,
Voice: (602) 470-8086 ext. 301, Fax (602) 470-8092