Common mouse-ear chickweed.

Auf einen Blick

Pflegestufe

Einfach

Pflanzenart

Herbaceous perennial

Licht

Full sun to partial shade

Licht im Innenraum

Direkte Sonne

Gießen

Alle 3 bis 7 Tage

Endgröße

6 to 12 inches

Wachstum

Schnell

Winterhärte

USDA 3 bis 9

Blütezeit

Late spring to summer

Pflege

Keep the soil consistently moist to support its rapid spread. Watch for yellowing leaves which may indicate poor drainage or too much shade. It handles regular foot traffic quite well.

Gießen

Water when the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch.

Düngen

Apply a balanced liquid fertilizer sparingly during the active growing season.

Schneiden

Trim back stems to encourage a denser habit and prevent unwanted spreading.

Umtopfen

Repot only if the plant becomes root-bound or needs fresh soil nutrients.

Boden

Well-draining loamy soil

Boden-pH

6.0 to 7.5

Temperatur

-20 bis 30°C

Luftfeuchtigkeit

40 bis 80%

Sicherheit

Menschen

The plant is generally considered non-toxic but is not meant for human consumption.

Kinder

Keep away from young children as the small seeds and foliage are not food.

Kontaktallergene

Handling the stems may cause mild skin irritation in sensitive individuals.

Allergene in der Luft

The pollen can trigger mild seasonal allergies in some people.

Essbarkeit

This plant is not considered edible and may cause stomach upset if ingested.

So erkennst du die Pflanze

• Small opposite oval leaves
• Soft hairs on foliage
• Five white notched petals
• Low creeping growth habit

Höhe

0,05 bis 0,45m

Breite

0,1 bis 0,6m

Blätter

green, semi-evergreen

Blüten

white, 0,5 bis 1cm

Früchte

brown, late summer

Häufige Probleme

• Aphids — Small insects that cluster on stems and suck plant sap.
• Powdery mildew — A fungal growth that appears as white dust on leaves during humid weather.

Standort und Pflege

Vermehrung

seed, division

Pflanzzeit

spring, autumn

This plant is best managed as a component of wild meadows rather than formal garden beds.

Gute Pflanzpartner

• Weißklee — They often grow together in low-maintenance turf areas.
• Löwenzahn — They share similar habitat preferences in disturbed meadows.

Ähnliche Arten

• Cerastium tomentosum — It is a popular garden relative with more showy, silvery foliage.

Botanisches

Familie

Caryophyllaceae

Gattung

Cerastium

Ordnung

Caryophyllales

Klasse

Magnoliopsida

Ursprüngliche Heimat

Europe and parts of Asia.

Artenschutz

This species is widespread and common, so it is not of conservation concern.

It survives by spreading rapidly through seeds and rooting stems in disturbed, moist soils.

Nutzen für Wildtiere

nectar source

Bestäuber

Bienen, Schmetterlinge

Verwendung

ground cover, weed control, pollinator habitat

Taxonomie abgeglichen mit GBIF.

Häufige Fragen

Is this plant a weed?

Yes, it is widely considered a common lawn weed.

How do I control it?

Regular mowing and maintaining a thick, healthy lawn will help suppress it.

Woher der Name kommt

The genus name Cerastium comes from the Greek word for horn, referring to the shape of the seed capsules. The specific epithet fontanum means of a fountain or spring.

Gut zu wissen

• It is a very successful colonizer of lawns and pastures.
• The name mouse-ear refers to the shape and hairiness of the leaves.
• It can reproduce both by seed and by rooting at the nodes.