I have a couple plants I haven't been able to identify....

Mary Hill
by Mary Hill
Acts like low growing ground cover...
It's a vine....serrated edges
  12 answers
  • Teresa Teresa on May 23, 2018

    While I'm not sure what this plant is, I use the free plant identifier app on my Android phone called "Picture This". Very easy to use. iPhones have free plant ID apps as well. It's as easy as snapping a photo from the app and pressing the identify button. Good luck!

  • GrandmasHouseDIY GrandmasHouseDIY on May 23, 2018

    Hi Mary the top one looks like creeping charlie and the next one looks like virginia creeper. I have both and actually really like them but a lot of folks don't like them because they are REALLY hard to kill which is, of course, why I like them. Bees love the creeping charlie too! And the virginia creeper turns a glorious burgundy in the fall that is, if I'm right about what they are!

    • Mary Hill Mary Hill on May 25, 2018

      Not Virginia creeper, as I have lots of it....creeping Charlie maybe, haven't seen any need in it. Thank you

  • Cristine Meixner Cristine Meixner on May 23, 2018

    I think it is crown vetch.

  • Heather Bella Heather Bella on May 24, 2018

    top is vetch - can't tell from the pics if it is hairy vetch or crown vetch. bottom is either virginia creeper, poison ivy, or goutweed, I can't see the whole plant from the photos. The connecting "vine" for gout weed is pretty much only underground runners. both virginia creeper and poison ivy have runners above ground as well as below. Poison ivy has only three leaves per cluster, sometimes serrated/sometimes not, sometimes dull/sometimes glossy. Always 3 leaflets though. Virginia creeper has 3 to 5 leaflets per cluster.

  • Slw21358627 Slw21358627 on May 24, 2018

    Looks like VA Creeper or Crown Vetch. Either one can get invasive but it's usually easy to pull out if it goes where you don't want it. If you like it, leave it in; if it gets too unwieldy just tear it all out. You might take a bunch of it to a local flower nursery and see if they'll tell you more. I have creeping Geraniums that look similar but the flowers are bigger.

  • Barb Barb on May 24, 2018

    The picture is so close up It almost looks like a moss I bot for my fairy garden . It is really beautiful if you make a fairy garden put some in there .Good luck

  • Kris Bauer Kris Bauer on May 24, 2018

    There is a free app called INaturalist . You take a pic of the plant and in seconds it tells you what it is! I think your plant is a type of vetch.

  • Susie Susie on May 24, 2018

    The flowering groundcover is storksbill (not vetch or creeping charlie/ground ivy). Not sure about the vine (from the image) - yes, some similarities to poison ivy and/or V. creeper, but I'm not convinced it's either....

    • Mary Hill Mary Hill on May 25, 2018

      Not V creeper or P ivy...storksbill, hmmm I'll check into that thanks...

  • TERESA FORST TERESA FORST on May 24, 2018

    Looks like Sweet Woodruff to me, is most commonly used as a ground cover in shady areas.

  • Bonnie Bonnie on May 24, 2018

    Susie is correct, the first one is Storksbill. The second one looks like young sprouts of a vine, so the the leaves could change shape as it matures. As they are now, they look like they could be trumpet vine. Your best bet is to use one the apps the other posters have recommended.

  • Triva Brooks Triva Brooks on Jun 01, 2018

    Mary, the second picture looks like a plant I have & love. Here is the info below.


    Japanese Kerria (Kerria japonica)

    We know it by Easter Rose in NC/SC


    https://garden.org/plants/view/86175/Japanese-Kerria-Kerria-japonica/


    Look at the gallery pictures near the bottom of the page & you’ll see a few different ones. I keep mine trimmed into a shrub. I remember my grandmother’s always spread out in vine form. One of my neighbors has it growing on a trellis arch going into her garden. Hope this helps!


    PS I have better luck just entering the characteristics (either leaf/bloom, shape/color, size) in Google & it usually takes me to a few familiar sites. Dave’s Garden is another good site. There are so many so I’m sure you’ll be fine.

    Have a great day!