Other Names:  Inch Plant, Turtle Vine

Description:

This selection is an excellent plant for borders, rock gardens, and massed as groundcover; foliage emerges light green and darkens over time; dainty white flowers accented with bright yellow anthers in late spring or early summer

Ornamental Features

Creeping Inchplant features dainty clusters of white flowers with yellow anthers at the ends of the stems from late spring to early summer. Its attractive glossy oval leaves emerge light green in spring, turning dark green in color with curious purple undersides throughout the season. The deep purple stems can be quite attractive.

Landscape Attributes

Creeping Inchplant is an herbaceous annual with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Creeping Inchplant is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Creeping Inchplant will grow to be only 4 inches tall at maturity extending to 6 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 4 feet. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. Although it's not a true annual, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat. As this plant tends to go dormant in summer, it is best interplanted with late-season bloomers to hide the dying foliage.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. This plant does not require much in the way of fertilizing once established. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. Consider covering it with a thick layer of mulch in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This species is not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division.

Creeping Inchplant is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.