Lysimachia nummularia
‘Aurea’
golden creeping Jenny
primulaceae
Small, bright yellow flowers; round,
penny-sized golden leaves on prostrate
plants
2–4 in. high; 15–20 in. wide
Full sun–part shade
Blooms June
Zones 3–10
pruning This creeper is often treated
as an annual and is used in container
plantings as a “spiller.” It can also be
planted in the landscape—with
caution. In the lightly shaded, moistsites where it feels most at home, it
can become an overzealous spreader,
rooting at the nodes as it travels along
the ground. Where plants don’t run
rampant, pruning isn’t much of a
chore. Spring cleanup is a matter of
trimming or simply pulling away by
hand whatever dead plant material
remains in order to make way for new
growth (which emerges early in the
year). Plants may also be sheared at
any time during the growing season if
the foliage looks rough, and a fresh
mantle of bright glossy leaves will
soon follow. Creeping Jenny is
semi-evergreen in protected places.
other maintenance Golden
creeping Jenny not only favors moist
sites but can actually be grown
submerged in water. It likes some
shade during the hottest part of the
day, particularly in warm climates.
Deep shade will turn the bright yellow
leaves green. Where its wandering
ways are not a nuisance, this plant is a
useful groundcover that provides an
exciting contrast to dark-foliaged
plants and acts as a living mulch
throughout the growing season. Pale
gray caterpillarlike sawfly larvae
occasionally attack this species and
can decimate a planting. The plants
will usually releaf once the sawflies
have moved on.
related plantS Lysimachia
nummularia ‘Goldilocks’ is likely just a
more marketable name for L. nummu-
laria ‘Aurea’. The straight species, L.
nummularia, has plain green leaves
and is rarely found at nurseries. It is an
even more rampant grower than the
golden form and is considered a truly
noxious weed in some areas of the
United States.
Lysimachia congestiflora (zones 6–9)
is a short-lived, low-growing perennial
similar to L. nummularia for container
plantings, groundcover, or edging. It’s
represented by purple-leaved selec-
tions such as ‘Midnight Sun’ and
‘Persian Chocolate’, as well as by
yellow-and-green variegated forms
like ‘Walkabout Sunset’.Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’