What is this weed that makes a good ground cover

Discussion in 'Groundcovers' started by mkk, Jul 2, 2008.

  1. mkk

    mkk Active Member

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    Sorry, no picture.
    The plant /weed has soft red stems, grows in a flat tight mat. The leaves are opposed on stem and they are round to ovate. When it is time to flower, it has very tiny white flowers. It is easy to pull up but I have decided to leave this growing as a ground cover on my rocky area so no more tall weeds will take over. Is this a safe idea or am I all wrong? Please identify this and give me some kind of idea what I'm in for.
     
  2. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Maybe Common Chickweed Stellaria media? That doesn't usually have red stems, though.
     
  3. pierrot

    pierrot Active Member 10 Years

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  4. mkk

    mkk Active Member

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    Thanks for the info pierrot( and fast)but it didn't have a picture of my weed/groundcover. It is very invasive and has already covered some of my large rocks(the rocks I'm talking about weigh about a ton). Grass grows through it, darn!
    The leaves are smooth and so are the stems. I am going to keep looking.
    Not fleshy leaves. the leaves are very flat and dark green
    I found it! It is spotted spurge( Chamaesyce maculata )

    Can anyone tell me something about this? Like I should get rid of it immediately or it will be alright until I get some other groundcover to take it's place. I was just trying to go with some rather native species I found already growing here.
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2008
  5. Cereusly Steve

    Cereusly Steve Active Member

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    Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) has yellow flowers not white.

    A picture would be most helpful.

    A more specific locality of where you are would be good too.
     
  6. Olafhenny

    Olafhenny Active Member 10 Years

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    Hi mkk:
    You can solve your problem by simply buying into my motto:
    If I don't like the looks of it, it is a weed.
    If I do, it is a useful plant (in this case a ground cover) :)

    So relax and enjoy, what youv'e got . BTW this stuff is very drought resistant. So if you live in an arid or semi arid climate (that is, where this stuff occurs naturally) you can get rid of the grass, by simply not watering.
     

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