Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Ode to Creeping Charlie
Creeping Charlie ever present in our lawns will be, blooming purple flowers, oh so pretty to me.
Ode to the weed that creepingly reseeds with stem and rhizome. Not content to stay in place, Creeping Charlie, sets a pace to cross your lawn, it’s a race.
Embrace the creeper or let loose on the leaper?
Creeping Charlie really doesn’t spread as quickly as, say the dandelion, but it is annoying to those with lovely lawns. CC does, however, invite bees such as sweat bees, bumble bees and bees knees, honey bees to your yard.
While CC won’t sustain those bees, they do offer some early nectar. It’s also a lesser of other evils like quackgrass or crabgrass!
If you are determined to get rid of a large infestation, then that means chemicals. While I really don’t care to use them, others really want Creeping Charlie to leap out of their lawns. So, the University of Minnesota, recommends triclypor, a broadleaf herbicide. Here’s the problem, it will also injure tree roots
Here’s a LINK to the U of MN’s turf management, specifically regarding Creeping Charlie. While the “weed” invites bees, it won’t sustain the pollinators. You’ll definitely want to plant more flowers, and perhaps allow clover to take over!
