Alehoof (Glechoma hederacea) in 200 mm Green Hanging Basket

Family: Lamiaceae (the mint family; includes mints, basils, sages, oreganos)
Genus: Glechoma (includes several similar-looking ground ivies)

Botanical/Binomial Name: Glechoma hederacea
Common Names: Alehoof, Ground Ivy, Creeping Charlie, Creeping Jenny, Cat’s Foot, Coin Grass

Botanical Characteristics: Herbaceous | Creeping Perennial | Evergreen | Frost hardy
Propagation: Seed | Layering | Separation of self-rooted runners

Always do your own due diligence and seek medical expertise if considering plants for medicinal purposes.

Item Description:
PICK-UP ONLY
This item is the exact plant in the photos, with the exception of photo number 4, which is of alehoof as a groundcover cohabiting with Roman/lawn chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile).

Dimensions of this green hanging basket are 200 mm diameter by 125 mm without hanger, 365 mm with hanger. The clasp hanger is removeable, allowing you the option of hanging or placing on a stand to cascade.

This is a saucerless pot, well-suited for moisture-loving plants such as this species, as water is retained at the bottom of the pot around a drainage well. This reduces watering requirements by reducing drying out whilst also retaining a reservoir for roots to tap into. Excess water above the reservoir simply drains out the hole.

Plant Description:
Alehoof was used by English Saxons to flavour ales before the introduction of hops in the 15th century. The name ‘alehoof’ is from the middle English word ‘ale-hove’, itself from the words ‘ale’ (ale) and the middle English word ‘hove’ (ground-ivy).

Alehoof has medicinal and culinary properties, and can be drunk as a tea or eaten as a salad leaf. The taste lingers and has an interesting je ne sais quoi aspect to it.

Alehoof also makes a lovely ornamental plant with its pretty foliage, whether in a hanging basket, cascading over something, or as a groundcover. Small violet-coloured flowers will dot the plant come spring.

Growing Information:
Alehoof is an easy-care plant requiring not much more than reliably moist conditions and occasional fertilising. This plant will grow in part to full sun, but does prefer a shady environment and will fill areas where grass struggles. It can cope with any soil type so long as it is moist. It’s best to keep it contained if you don’t want it as a groundcover, as it may become invasive like other plants in the mint family. Like any plant, this species will appreciate occasional fertilising, and a slow-release type is more than adequate.

Sections of stem which have naturally rooted on contact with the ground can be cut away and uprooted for transplanting elsewhere. Alternatively lay a trailing piece over a pot until it has taken root, then cut this ‘bridge’ between the daughter and mother plant for a new plant to relocate elsewhere.