How to grow ground ivy? A detailed guide to its care methods

1. Soil selection

Ground ivy is not demanding when it comes to soil; it only needs loose, well-drained soil, but you should take care to keep the soil moist, and you can add appropriate base fertilizer.

2. Light and temperature

Ground ivy likes a shady, humid growing environment, and the light should be appropriate, avoiding strong light. It grows most luxuriantly under partial sun or around 40% sunlight. It likes warmth, and the most suitable growing temperature is 15°C-28°C; it dislikes high temperatures, and the winter overwintering temperature must not be lower than 5°C.

3. Watering and fertilizing

Ground ivy likes moisture, so during care you must water it often to keep the soil moist. In addition to applying sufficient base fertilizer when planting, it also needs fertilizing once every one to two months, and in summer and autumn it also needs timely topdressing.

Do these three things well, and you can grow ground ivy successfully, because it has very strong vitality and can be managed relatively extensively. Once it is growing well, you can also let it propagate, either to give to friends or to let it better beautify the environment. Next, the editor will tell you about the propagation methods of ground ivy.

How to grow ground ivy: the effects and functions of ground ivy

Ground ivy, also known as jinqianai, is a perennial herbaceous plant, with verticillasters usually bearing 2 flowers and rarely 4-6 flowers, and it is quite ornamental. So how do you grow ground ivy? What effects and functions does it have? Let's find out together below.

I. How to grow ground ivy

1. Soil: Ground ivy is actually not demanding about soil; well-drained, loose, fertile sandy soil is best, and you should keep the soil moist and add appropriate base fertilizer to make the soil fertile.

2. Light: Ground ivy likes a shady, humid growing environment, and the light should be appropriate. During care, giving it partial sun or around 40% sunlight will make it grow luxuriantly.

3. Temperature: Ground ivy likes warmth, and the suitable growing temperature is 15°C-28°C; it dislikes high temperatures, and the winter overwintering temperature should not be lower than 5°C.

4. Water and fertilizer: Ground ivy likes moist soil, and during care it needs watering to keep it moist. As for fertilizing, in addition to applying sufficient base fertilizer when planting, it also needs fertilizing once every one to two months, and after harvesting in summer and autumn it also needs timely topdressing.

5. Pests and diseases: Ground ivy has relatively few diseases. During its growth period, snails and slugs sometimes bite and eat the stems and leaves, and they need to be caught and killed promptly to eliminate the pests.

II. The effects and functions of ground ivy

1. The effects of ground ivy: Ground ivy tastes bitter and pungent, and its nature is cold. It can enter the liver, gallbladder, and bladder meridians. Its important effects include draining dampness and treating strangury, clearing heat and detoxifying, and reducing swelling. In daily use, it can be used to treat many diseases such as urolithiasis, jaundice, and swelling and painful traumatic injuries.

2. Ground ivy can promote bile flow: Promoting bile flow is an important effect of ground ivy. After entering the human body, it can increase the regeneration of liver cells, promote the secretion of bile, increase the internal pressure within the liver and gallbladder, and accelerate the discharge of bile, which has a good effect on reducing the occurrence of liver and gallbladder diseases.

3. Ground ivy can promote urination and dissolve stones: Ground ivy has a good diuretic effect, can treat body edema and difficult urination, and can also make urine acidic, dissolve stones formed in the body, and has a good effect on dissolving and preventing urinary tract stones.

4. Ground ivy has an antibacterial effect: Antibacterial action is an important effect of ground ivy. It has a good inhibitory and antagonistic effect on Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella dysenteriae, and Salmonella typhi in the human body, and can reduce the occurrence of many bacterial diseases.

5. Ground ivy can treat traumatic injuries: Ground ivy has a good hemostatic and swelling-reducing effect. After a person suffers a traumatic injury, fresh whole ground ivy can be mashed and applied directly to the injured area, which can quickly reduce swelling and relieve pain.

The above ishow to grow ground ivyandthe effects and functions of ground ivyintroduced. Friends who like ground ivy should not miss it, and we hope it is helpful to everyone.

How to grow ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea)

How to grow ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea)

Basic information on ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea)

Scientific name: Glechoma hederacea

Family and genus: Lamiaceae, genus Glechoma (also called the ground ivy genus).

A perennial evergreen creeping herbaceous plant, about 15 cm tall. Stems slender, 1-2 m long, square, covered with fine soft hairs. Leaves opposite, kidney-shaped or rounded-heart-shaped, 2-4 cm wide, with rounded teeth on the margins, light green, covered with short soft hairs, with long petioles. It blooms in May-June, with flowers growing in the leaf axils; the flowers are small, the corolla light blue, rarely white, and the lower lip has dark spots.

The branches and leaves of ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) hang downward, resembling a waterfall, especially in variegated varieties, whose green leaves are inlaid with white or pale yellow markings; when the leaves are rubbed, they can give off a fragrance, bringing a fresh, comfortable, and elegant feeling; it has strong adaptability, grows quickly, and is easy to propagate. It is suitable as ground cover under sparse trees; it can also be potted and placed on shelves, cabinet tops, and other high places, or used as a hanging decoration.

[Varieties of Glechoma hederacea and related ornamental plants]

(1) Variegated Glechoma hederacea (cv. Variegata): also known as variegated ground ivy, colorful ground ivy, variegated money mint, and white-spotted Glechoma hederacea. It is a cultivated horticultural variety of Glechoma hederacea. The edges of the light green leaves have white or pale yellow patches, which turn slightly red in winter.

(2) Glechoma longituba: also known as huoxuedan, jinqiancao, chuandixiang, and biandixiang. A perennial herbaceous plant, 30 cm tall. Stems creeping, four-angled. Leaves opposite, heart-shaped or kidney-shaped, with fine hairs on both sides. It blooms in summer, with verticillasters bearing 2-6 flowers; the flowers are labiate, light purple to pink. Nutlets are oblong-ovate and brown.

[Propagation of Glechoma hederacea] Division, cuttings, layering.

(1) Division: Carry out in spring or autumn. Cut off branches and vines that have adventitious roots and plant them directly in pots.

(2) Cuttings: This can be done at any time during the growing season when the temperature reaches above 15°C, mainly from May to June. Cut 15-20 cm long stem vines as cuttings. Because the branches and vines have the characteristic of rooting at each node, the survival rate of cuttings is very high, and they can take root and survive about 1 week after insertion. Cut branches can also be rooted in water, taking 2-3 weeks to root, and they are extremely easy to keep alive.

(3) Layering: Also carried out during growth. Bury 1-2 nodes of the branches and vines into a pot, cover with 2-3 cm of soil, and they will root easily. When many roots have formed, cut them away from the mother plant and plant them separately.

[Key care points for Glechoma hederacea]

(1) Temperature: It likes warmth, and the most suitable growing temperature is 15-28°C. It is relatively cold-tolerant, and in winter it can endure low temperatures of -KTC. When cultivated in the open ground, the leaves turn slightly red after frost in early winter. If the aboveground parts die after low temperatures in winter, they will sprout branches and grow leaves again after the weather warms in the following spring. If moved indoors before winter, it can remain evergreen throughout the four seasons.

(2) Light: It likes a semi-shady environment and fears direct strong light. In summer, when temperatures are high and light is strong, shade should be provided, blocking 30%-40% of the light.

(3) Watering: It likes a moist soil environment and is not tolerant of drought. During the growth period, it should be watered fully to keep the potting soil moist; do not wait until the potting soil is completely dry before watering. When the potting soil is too dry, the stems and leaves tend to wilt and wither. In winter, watering should be reduced, and it is enough to keep it slightly moist.

(4) Environmental humidity: It likes a humid environment. During growth, water should often be sprayed on the branches, leaves, and surroundings to increase the relative air humidity. However, do not spray water on the leaves during high temperatures, otherwise scorch spots are likely to appear on the leaf surface.

(5) Fertilizing: Fertilize once every half month during the growing season, and pay attention to the balance of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. To avoid excessive growth of branches and vines, control the application of nitrogen fertilizer. Stop topdressing in winter.

(6) Pruning: In spring, prune the plant once when repotting, cutting off aged branches and vines and shortening overly long branches.

(7) Potting and repotting: For planting, choose flower pots with a diameter of 15-20 cm, and plant 5-7 seedlings per pot. It likes fertile, loose, and well-drained sandy loam soil. The growing medium can be prepared from materials such as leaf mold, garden soil, and rice husk ash or coarse sand. Potted plants should be repotted every spring when the root system has filled the pot.

(8) Pest and disease control: Downy mildew is likely to occur during the plum rain season, and other pests such as red spider mites, thrips, whiteflies, and slugs can also cause damage.

[Common problems in growing Glechoma hederacea]

Common problems    Causes
Excessive growth of branches and vines    ① Too much fertilizer and water; ② Poor light
Branches and leaves wilted and lifeless, leaf margins scorched    ① Low temperature; ② Too strong light; ⑤ Air too dry; ④ No repotting for a long time