- Creeping Jenny is a low-growing plant with square stems that sends roots out at nodes. Its leaves are kidney shaped with scalloped edges. Creeping Jenny has small, bluish-purple, trumpet-shaped flowers. In landscapes, creeping Jenny often first becomes established in moist, shady areas before easily spreading into sunny areas.
- Repeated pulling and hoeing, especially before the weed goes to seed in late spring to early summer, is the most effective creeping Jenny control method. Be sure to destroy the weed or dispose of it in a way that does not allow it to take root and spread again. Tilling a patch of creeping Jenny may damage its vigor but will typically not kill it, as it roots persistently.
- Chemical treatment to control creeping Jenny in vegetable gardens is generally not a viable control option. Even in lawns, no pre-emergence herbicides are able to control creeping Jenny and it must be addressed with postemergent broadleaf herbicides. Herbicide applications to control this weed in lawns near gardens can also damage vegetables or other desirable vegetation if drift occurs. An extremely heavy infestation may warrant a complete renovation of the garden and surrounding area. Perform multiple tillings of the entire infested area or apply a nonselective herbicide such as glyphosate. Remedy the conditions that favor the development of creeping Jenny, and after a suitable period of time has passed and the herbicide is no longer in the soil, reintroduce favorable vegetation.
- After removing the creeping Jenny from the vegetable garden, consider additional practices that will prevent its reappearance. Maintain a plant-free zone around the border of the garden so that you can recognize invading weeds and remove them quickly. If the creeping Jenny is spreading from the lawn into the garden, address this source. Consider treating the weed in the lawn with suitable herbicides, improve the conditions that favor the creeping Jenny and reseed the turf with a shade-tolerant grass species.
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