Two more- help identifying z4 shade groundcover or weed?

9 years ago

Two more plants / weeds that I'm trying to identify in our new home that we moved ino last year after leaves fell and a week before the snow came..... These two are growing in a shady, fairly most rich soil in zone 4. There is a lot more of the first photo type (mottlesdcolors on the leaves). There is also a lot of the second type (deeply textured veins), and as you can see in the background some creeping charlie. I'm trying to clean out / organize / de-weed and get some mulch down and I don't know if I should remove these or not? Long term I want to turn the area into a shade garden with some type of groundcover, hosta, fern,astilbe,etc but I don't know if this is the groundcover I should keep? Thank you!

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Comments (4)

fatamorgana2121
9 years ago
#1 compare to Hydrophyllum virginianum

#2 Leonurus cardiaca

FataMorgana
misterpatrick
9 years ago
The Virginia Waterleaf is a native and one of the first things to come up in the spring. It spreads pretty quickly but I enjoy them. The second is in the mint family and is invasive. Tends to last all winter. Easy to identify and easy to pull out.
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fatamorgana2121
9 years ago
The last is Motherwort (L. Cardiaca) as I previously said. 100% sure of the identification. It is a self-seeder but invasive? No. It is a very short-lived perennial, pretty much biennial in nature. The plant is a medicinal herb (as the name implies) has interesting foliage and racemes of pink/lavender flowers that are a favorite of bumblebees. If you don't want it to self-sow, cut the flower spikes before the seeds mature. This plant does grow in disturbed soil, waste areas and is generally a well behaved garden plant.

FataMorgana
engrgirl
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you for the help.... Now to decide what to do with the area. Probably I'll wait and see how they look throughout the year. Can I plant other things in these areas, or will these two smother any newcomers (hosta, fern, astilbe, chelone, etc.)?