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What is this perennial ground cover with pink flowers?

7 years ago

Can you help me identify this flowering perennial which is in full bloom in our Californian garden now, in December? It's ground cover, growing perhaps 12-18 inches high, has little green leaves about 1 cm and a profusion of pink flowers. It's about the only thing that we've found that can thrive under our pine trees with very poor soil (due to masses of roots from nearby trees and we'd like to plant some more. Thank you!

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Comments (6)

carol23_gw
7 years ago
Verbena.
D Witts
Original Author
7 years ago
Wow, that was speedy. Thank you! And it looks like it's easy to propagate so rather than look for additional plants to buy we'll dig out the rooting powder in the garage and have a go ourselves :)
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What about Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)? I see it in a few catalogues. My wild plant book says it likes moist woodlands, but it grows wild around here in dry, sandy, poor soil and always amongst the trees. I love it because you get the foiliage, then the flower and then great fall color with the red berry clusters and the leaves turn red as well. I'd say it would be low maintenence once its established, but by the sounds of things it takes a while for it to get there. It seems to form a nice carpet, although I've never grown it in the garden, we just have a lot of it growing wild around here. I might try transplanting some this year to go under my shrubs in the garden . This link to another GW forum had some propagation info. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/natives/msg080038167578.html?9 Here is a link that might be useful: Bunchberry
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tofi tropic (my posting appear 2hr post-posting)
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Looks like Lantana, the purple trailing Lantana (L montevidensis)?.
socalgal_gw Zone USDA 10b Sunset 24
7 years ago
Lantana montevidensis - a member of the verbena family.
D Witts
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you all, this is such a help. We would prefer to be cultivating natives and in particular to be avoiding plants that are considered invasive - which this is described as in some sources. But as it's the only thing that seems to have taken to this location we're going to stick with it!
gyr_falcon
7 years ago
Lantana camara is invasive, but there are sterile cultivars. Lantana montevidensis was once touted for not producing viable seeds, but the invasive status for this plant has changed to invasive in some frost-free sections of states (Florida, Gulf states and California mainly). It is not as invasive as the species L. camara, however.

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