Creeping Charlie

In my mother’s lawn there are is an invasive viney plant growing through the grass and pretty much over the whole lawn. In the early spring it has very small, bright violet/blue blooms and kind of round shaped leaves. These vines are a real menace. I have no idea what this plant is. I am hoping you can tell by my description.

Creeping Charlie (Glechome hederacea) is a weed that is most often found taking over in moist, shady areas. I have received many questions asking how to rid one’s lawn of creeping Charlie. The best advice I can give you about this situation is to improve the quality of your grass through proper mowing, watering and fertilizing. A healthy lawn will quickly choke out an invasion of creeping Charlie. Reducing the amount of shade and moisture in the trouble spot will also help to control this weed.

Borax laundry detergent is sometimes used to kill creeping Charlie because the plant is especially sensitive to the active ingredient boron. But I don’t recommend this solution because boron does not break down in the soil over time and not only is it toxic to creeping Charlie but to other plants as well. When you add these two characteristics together you can see the potential to create an area in your garden where nothing will grow at all.