Creeping Buttercup's Cheerfulness For A Long Time

Most people are familiar with the golden-yellow flowers of the creeping buttercup. It certainly does brighten up the landscape! It is pollen-producing and loves the trim and attention when preparing mowing. This flowering perennial plant is not native, and tends to pop up in non-wanted patches. It is wild and beautiful in its reliability and heartiness, with lovely flowers and greenery developed in the last long years. It is well known to grow along patches used by other plants.

Creeping Buttercup's Amazing Roots

The plant has a very interesting buttercup structure. It has its fibrous root system and the stems. The stems of the buttercup are known to be stolons, and tend to spread when in wet soil. The buttercup and stolons are a deceiving patch of vegetation. Every wet patch has a seed and a small buttercup hidden amongst other plants. The buttercup has a strong ability to retain soil and its surface. It has a good ability to compete with other plants' roots. Overall, it has a strong ability to thrive. A buttercup is a smooth surface with a few plants, and wet soil with a strong ability to retain all of it.

Dealing with Weeds: Creeping Buttercup - BBC Gardeners World Magazine

The Creeping Buttercup has also got two ways to reproduce: There are the stolons, and also like regular seeds. Each plant can like, make a lot of seeds each year, like 20 to 50, and the seeds spread to new areas by wind, water, or even animals. Being able to spread and reproduce like this makes it a pretty determined and successful perennial. The combination of being able to move, also being able to reproduce with so many seeds also makes it spread even faster, especially when the weather has periods of being super wet and periods of being dry.

The plant's foliage is also distinct. The green leaves are like, three sets of toothed leaflets, like, to dent the leaves, giving the leaves a coarse but beautiful appearance. These three leaves are low lying, and are able to make it cover a lot of earth, making it able to create a ground cover. From like, the last spring to the ending of summer, which is usually May to September, the plant is able to shoot the flowering stems which are glossy, and it makes the color stand out, like the color is bright yellow infused, and it makes it a good plant to have in a garden. The taller buttercups are distinct and bad to have. They are toxic, which is also concerning. We've got to be careful with these.

Great Ground Covers for Value for North American Property

The Creeping Buttercup is originally native to Europe and Asia, but has adapted perfectly to North American flora. This resilient perennial is effective in establishing the ground cover needed in marshy and shallow drainage issues. Buttercup is very low maintenance and is able to withstand a variety of soil but tends to like deep, wet clay locations.

The growing habit of Buttercup gives it a tendency to outcompete adjacent plants. If you don't plan on regularly managing the plant, it is recommended to plant it away from weaker and slower growing plants. This attribute gives it the reputation of being a weed but can easily be utilized to cover unsightly and unprotected landscaping. Also, this plant is great for places that receive a lot of activity and foot traffic.

The plant survives extremely cold temperatures. So, it can be one of the first plants to turn green in spring and cover the ground with its foliage quickly. Other perennials take a long time to wake up from dormancy.

Companion Plants and Landscape Design

When using Creeping Buttercup in your landscape, think about combining it with other tough plants. It works well as a "spiller" in container plantings and at the edges of raised beds because of its creeping habit.

You can also plant it with other drought-tolerant perennials like:

Hostas: These plants have very big, flat leaves and create a nice texture with the thinner leaves of the buttercup.

Ferns: Like the Ostrich Fern or Lady Fern which grows exactly in the same shady, damp conditions.

Astilbe: Plants of these species have light feathery flowering plumes. They can form a nice layered style in the set back portion from the buttercup ground cover.

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis): These flowers have long, very thin, bright red spikes and are a beautiful contrast to the yellow flowers of the buttercup.

With a combination of special traits of the Creeping Buttercup, you can create a beautiful, multi-level garden by carefully choosing companion plants while controlling the extensive spread of the plant.

A Variety of Perennial Plants Offered At TN Nursery

When creating your landscape, we hope the information about the Creeping Buttercup helps you the most. These perennial plants spread quickly and enrich large areas in no time. They are perfect for wet areas where other plants may die off. If you need reliable, hardy plants to solve your landscape problems, we are sure to have what you need. Visit TN Nursery to see the collection and make your order.

FAQs

Should I get rid of creeping buttercups?

Removing creeping buttercups will depend on what the area is meant for. If the area is meant for a carefully arranged lawn, then it is usually considered a weed for its rapid spread. But for a low-maintenance ground cover in a natural garden area that is complicated to plant, or in a wet area that is hard to plant in, it can be really helpful.

What is creeping buttercup good for?

Where grass is hard to grow, it is a great ground cover for wet and compacted soils. It can help by covering bare spots and is good looking and tough for the area of soil, adding bright yellow flowers to the regions.

Is creeping buttercup invasive?

Invasive is definitely the word for it in a lot of areas, especially in grassy areas or pastures. It will definitely be a lot for other plants and grass. It is a rapid spreader and it is woody, so it will really outcompete a lot of other plants for the nutrients in the soil.

Is creeping buttercup a good ground cover?

In certain situations, it can be a good ground cover. In moist, shady, and/or high-traffic regions, it can serve as a lovely and durable green carpet. However, there is a need to manage it to avoid it from overpowering other plants.

What kills creeping buttercup but not grass?

Creeping buttercup can be controlled with broadleaf herbicides such as MCPA and/or %u03B24-D, and these products are safe to use with most grasses. Use the highest quality herbicides, and most importantly, read all the instructions on the specific product to get the best and safest application to your lawn.

What is the old wives tale about buttercups?

An old wives' tale involved placing a buttercup flower under someone's chin. If the flower casts a yellow reflection on the chin, the tale says the person loves butter.

Tammy Sons, Horticulture Expert

Written by Tammy Sons

Tammy Sons is a horticulture expert and the CEO of TN Nursery, specializing in native plants, perennials, ferns, and sustainable gardening. With more than 35 years of hands-on growing experience, she has helped gardeners and restoration teams across the country build thriving, pollinator-friendly landscapes.

Learn more about Tammy →