PlantFiles: Chameleon Plant
Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon'

I just purchased this plant at a large sale. Planted it in my shade garden. After reading all the comments on it, I think I will move it under my big maple tree before it takes hold. It sounds worse than "Snow on the Mountain." I'll keep you posted on what happens.

It is used medicinally in Chinese medicine, see Dr Zhang. The Houttuynia pills he sells are expensive! I should grow it in a pot indoors and figure out the dosage.

I love all plants but this one is the only exception. I planted it seven years ago and the first year it was well behaved. The second year it spread like crazy. The third year it is everywhere. I have a 24" walkway and it has spread under it to the other side. I have never seen such an invasive plant as this one. I have completely dug up the bed it was in and sifted thru the soil to get all the root to get rid of it. The roots are easy to see, they are thick fleshy and white and of course have that strong citrus like odor. Even then it came back in the spring. I have since been pulling it out every time I see it. It even grows faster and spreads more than crab grass.

It grows in full sun to the darkest shade. I does grow faster in moist soil but will even spread in dry conditions. Maybe it would not survire in a desert. Nothing seems to stop this plant once it takes hold. I also have some bamboo and it is not as invasive as the Chameleon.

I think this plant gets unfair treatment! It is well behaved in my garden. I really lights up shady corners with its nice variegation. Not that hard at all to keep under control!

The previous owner planted this in a small flower bed at the entrance to my house. When we first moved in I thought it was pretty and I liked it until I started pulling it out because I realized it was not intended to fill that bed and was choking out some plants underneath it. Now it has been a daily ritual for the last 2 years for me to check and remove any that I see popping up.

There's not much I can warn you about that hasn't already been said here, but I would like to strongly note that if you plant this in what you perceive to be a contained bed, think twice before you do as it has sent out runners all the way under my sidewalk and popped up on the other side as well as trying to grow in the crack between my concrete patio and the side if the house. I also have a concrete basket sitting up on some pavers...NO soil under it but the chameleon plant grows under the basket as well.

I personally like the smell of this but my husband can't stand it.

This plant is so invasive!!! I planted this in my flower bed because I thought it was so pretty. It has sent roots into my grass (through the stone borders). I am trying to kill it as it has invaded my next door neighbors yard too! I dug out all that I could until I reached the underground phone and cable lines. 2 applications of Round up has not fazed it!!! I just read about natural weed killers and am boiling a pot of water as I write.
Check out :http://www.thisgardenisillegal.com/2006/05/7-deadly-homemade-weed-killers.html
I will let you know what happens.

I love the way this looks, en masse, in the garden, however, that is NOT how I intended this to be. It has completely over taken the garden bed (north side of house, western edge) killing even the bulbs that were established there. Seems to have not spread beyond (or through) the Goat's Beard.

Again, the foliage looks awesome .... but ..... be forewarned!!! I wish I had been.

How I wish I had read about this plant prior to putting it in my garden. I thought it was such a beauty, all the different colors and the pretty white flowers. I would never recommend this plant to anyone. I have tried for years to dig it all out. It has spread underground all around my small pond and tries to crowd out anything else that attempts to grow. It stinks to high heaven when it is "bothered" and just keeps going and going. Buyer beware.

I am so glad I ran across this! I was quite taken by its beauty, but after reading all the problems caused by its invasive spread, I am glad I have not purchased any. I spent a year trying to eradicate just one small patch of Japanese Knotweed last year. (With no success, I might add). And would have been hear broken to have started an equally rotten plant bully in my new home. thanks to all for the heads up!

NEVER plant this plant. It is perniciously invasive. The odor is so bad that when you hand weed, you have to take a break to let the odor dissipate. I have used weed killer and repeated pulling -- but I still have some surviving. NEVER plant this!

I am surprised to see all the negs on this plant. I have cameleons under a row of pine trees as a ground cover, they spread quickly and filled the bare area, even with minimal sun i get a good show of red tipped leaves - i love the color.
Like i said they are quick growing so these probley wouldnt be a good plant for a garden area, but they do make a great ground cover, in the right spot it can be a nice touch of color.

FOR ALL OF THOSE WITH NEGATIVE COMMENTS: This is a classic example of what can happen when you don't hire a landscape professional to help you design or install your garden. You wouldn't hire a plumber to shingle your roof would you? Hire a professional next time even if for only consultation and you will save a lot of time, money, and frustration.
Now the real truth: This Invasive plant DOES have a place in the garden: use only in completely surrounded concrete poor drainage groundcover areas. If combined with other plants, make sure they are least 3'tall and let the houttuynia fill in beneath. This plant will loose variegation over time and revert to green. To clarify "smell concerns"; Leaves smell somewhat like a citrus but can be overpowering in hot humid weather. The leaves are edible. Do not plant anywhere it has open ground with other similar sized plants. Roundup is 100% effective in 2 treatments if a professional does it at the right time of year. 6" deep loop of seemless edging will also contain this plant.
Most plants have a place in the garden , even invasive ones if used in the correct spot.

I agree with every negative statement made by others about this horribly invasive plant. It's beautiful in coloring but endlessly invasive spreading into lawns and paths with carefree abandon.

Even using my new weed torch doesn't stop it. When fire doesn't kill it you know it's persistent.

TOTALLY invasive! I've tried everything everyone else has tried to get rid of it. At first it was beautiful and I recieved many compliments on it. THEN IT TOOK OVER. It was coming up in the middle of my yugo pines and dwarfing it, then it moved on to my hostas and coral bells. It killed off a number of dwarf roses and a dwarf spruce. It was planted 10 years ago, yes I confess I did it. I've been trying for two years to get rid of it. It's just going to take time and patience!

I to have this plant and hate it, bought it unknowingly, thought it was pretty, I've been usiing Eliminator weed and grass killer, super concentrate on it and it seems to be working. As you have read this thing spreads like crazy...but did you know it is eatable! I fixed a tray of it and took it to a garden sale we had for our club and a Vietnamese lady was glad to find it she said they ate it in salads! Don't know if they cook it or not like spinach...might be good, ....may be a way to get rid of it eat it ....Ha.

We bought this plant at a nearby garden center, unwittingly.

I want to erradicate it completely. Roundup doesn't seem to work. I have had some luck with salt. Spray the leaves with Pam first so the salt will stick. Keep at it. Maybe when the plants are weakened by the salt Roundup will finish them off. What a mistake to buy these plants. How were we to know?.

I have a hosta garden of about 300 varied plants. I don't want this plant to invade these gardens.

I hate a love/hate relationship with this plant. I like it "in-bounds" and love it's brief, tiny white blooms. It makes an attractive patch under my tree. Dry shade, no less! Shows how hardy it is! I have had the best result eradicating it in unwanted areas by clipping the stem and applying stump or brush killer, full-strength. (I use a 1/2" foam brush to paint the end of the stems.) Time consuming, to say the least. But it works....

Neutral so far in terms of growing it. But overwhelmingly positive as an edible plant. This is grown in southeast Asia as a veggie/herb, and it smells and tastes more like cilantro than orangepeel. I can't get enought of it. Curries and similar food glow when you include it. However, I believe in a moist part of the country I would plant it in a pot or other restrained area; here in the hot central valley in CA, I'll put it in the ground. Heavenly fragrance.

I just planted this in a difficult part of my garden (SF Bay area). We have dense clay in this area where there is only morning sun, mulch and poor drainage. Since this plant is for "boggy" conditions, I am thrilled that something could actually succeed in this corner. The postings make me wonder if I should repot the plant before putting it underground, but I'm going to take my chances. Your feedback is a terrific resource.

Althought this is a pretty plant with its variegated leaves and almost insignificant white flowers, I find it extremely invasive and am glad that it is in a contained area of my property.

I am in zone 5a in Ontario, Canada and the freezing cold has no effect on it at all. It is extremely hardy and vigorous.

When I have given plants to those that want it, I dig it up to get some of the roots (which seem to go down to China !!!). You will want to wear gloves to do this or else wash your hands very vigorously with soap and water to remove the stink ! When any part of the plant is broken or cut, the smell is horrendous, in my opinion !

EVIL PLANT. Previous owner planted it. When I moved in it was a continuous ring around the house. Dug and dug to get rid of it the first fall in the house. Keep round-up mixed at 4x strength and hit the beds around the house weekly to shoot any pop ups. The ONLY plant that has out competed it has been Nasturtiums.

I am renting a home from a vietnamese family who had planted this the year before I moved in over a quarter of the front flower bed. The mother told me when I moved in "this is an herb we use to cook with in my country but you may not like it so you can weed it if you want". The leaves smelled kind of citrusy- not too bad. However, when it took over the entire bed by the end of that summer, I started weeding it. The ROOTS smelled like ROTTING FISH and I got nauseous just handling the stuff. By that August I had enough of trying to weed it and getting sick from it.

To kill it: I used ORTHO'S GROUNDCLEAR COMPLETE VEGETATION KILLER CONCENTRATE. And no, I didn't dilute it and it was 90% effective against the chameleon plant. The next spring I just weeded the roots of whatever did come up and by mid-summer all that was left in the bed was volunteer white clover. I planted a bunch of bulbs in fall and the next spring had the bed back. 2 years to get rid of this stuff!

DO NOT PLANT IT if you value your native habitat plants. It is an introduced plant that is highly invasive. Forget "weed", this is a terminator.

"The Environment Bay of Plenty (2003) reports that "H. cordata's rampant growth can rapidly displace native plants in forest and wetland ecosystems." "This plant is only found in gardens so far, but is believed to present a huge risk to the native habitats. Any sightings of this plant should be reported to local authorities" (National Pest Plant Accord, 2001). Hynes (2003, personal communication) reports that, "Not only is H. cordata able to seed parthenogenetically (in the absence of male plants), but also every segment of it roots readily and grows effortlessly." [HYPERLINK@www.invasivespecies.net]

The word SMELL was mentioned at least fifteen
times in the previous posts, so I guess I'm in for a
rude awakening.

I did plant Houttuynia last summer, though I was
disappointed in it. It did nothing. A couple little leaves
sat there. This spring is another story. It is coming up
where I did not plant it, quite far from the original plant.
It is growing overnight, my gosh!

I'm not one to call a plant invasive, but this one looks
like it's gonna be close. We'll what the coming months
bring and I'll check in again.

I found this naughty baby on the orphan table at a GA Round Up and I'm so glad I looked it up before I planted it. According to TV and radio Garden personality Walter Reeves, he now regards this plant as "Satans favorite groundcover".. so take heed and be advised against putting this in the garden.. I also wonder how long some folks here grew it before rating it positively. While it is attractive, if you must have it, keep it in a pot.
Walter went on to say, "The chameleon plant became so pestiferous that I had to dig up all the daylilies and wash the soil from their roots so I could identify and cast out the Houttuynia roots. I put the daylilies in a different spot, then had the pleasure of spraying Roundup on the chameleon plant in the original bed. It took me a year of spraying, but the bad plant is finally banished."

I was aware of this plants propencity to spread, when I bought it, 8 years ago, but also knew it was much more prolific in ideal moist)conditions, so I planted it at the furthest property line from the house in a "self-sustained" wildflower/shrub bed.
The only water it got was from Mother Nature, and it was only minimally invasive. I did have to pull some of it up occassionally, but not a real problem.
I loved the color, as well as the fragrance. About the fourth year, it was picking up speed, and spreading quite readily; but thankfully, after a 2 year draught, it pretty much just faded away-with my blessings.
I enjoyed it, but will definitely not replant.

Yes, it can be attractive....BUT....very difficult to eradicate even with Roundup. Took 2-3 years before I was successful. Definitely a noxious, invasive plant and should be avoided like the plague.

EVIL!!!!!*&#@&% plant!!! , i planted it in a bed 3 years ago and ripped it out that year and ive been spraying it with round up every week for 2 years and it still comes back between sprayings!

i don't mind some invasive plants [ones that are easily moved], but this one is one of the worst. if you leave even a tiny bit of root in the ground, a new plant will grow. they are terribly smelly as well. vendors should have a 'beware' listed with this one.

I recently purchased my home, and the previous owner had this horrible thing planted in the best flower garden area of the yard. I wish I had killed it off in the spring while conditioning the soil. Even the smallest piece of root will sprout.I've tried roundup, vinegar, salt. I think I will have to dispose of abot 2 cubic yards of soil to get it out, I only hope to save my dyanthus.DON'T PLANT THIS IF YOU ENJOY VARIETY IN YOUR GARDEN!!!

You already know this will take over your yard. I planted three plants 2 years ago. I am in the process of removing it ( not to mention digging up desirable plants in the process) by digging up an area 15 feet by 6 feet to a depth of 18 inches or more to get at the deep roots. DO NOT PLANT THIS. If you own this plant already DO NOT SHARE plugs with anyone. You will cause misery! See all others' comments. Not to mention losing the aesthetic balance of a manicured, varied perennial bed.
Not sure from what part of the world this is native, but it has no natural competitor to keep it in check here in Illinois. Even the rabbits don't touch it. The soil appears not to have many insects or earthworms where it once was a thriving habitat under the mulch.
I will try adding lime to the soil and raise the Ph a bit to make it a bit more uncomfortable for spreading!

I just purchased 6 of these plants today, and put them in an eclectic setting, which after reading other's comments may dig out tomorrow before they start running! However, at $3.49 per plant, I have decided to try another location. I live in a village and there is green grass between the sidewalk and street. I was thinking that perhaps that might be a good place let this proverbial invasive runner loose? Any thoughts on that? It would seemingly be contained between the sidewalk and the street?

Stay away from Houttuynia Cordata! I planted two plants several years ago, near my pond. They were slow to prgress but then became a horror. This plant takes over and I am now on my 14th year of battling to remove them. Roundup takes care of it for the season - but since it is so invasive this is a tedious process in order to protect other plants. This is also one of the worst smelling plants when pulled from the ground. If anyone has found a way to remove forever I would love to know it.

Although I understand this plant could be invasive, I have not seen much evidence in my garden for this in the last few years. It has put out runners and grown a few inches away from the main plant. I shall certainly be looking to check it's growth though if it becomes more invasive. It dies back in the winter and comes back very well each spring. Can revert to green/yellow leaves but I just cut these out and this year (2006) it has grown well and compact with lots of white flowers.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for your comments! I bought this plant from a nursery about 10 days ago and brought it home and promptly planted it in my flower garden. After reading your comments, I immediately went out and moved it out of the garden to the other side of our three acres under a tree! It had already started runners. Phew! Close call........

My mom has this gremlin growing in a bed next to her house...just add water, it multiplies. Like crazy. She doesn't seem to mind its invasive nature, not sure why. It's growing in between the roots of her yucca. I thought these plants were beautiful so I dug up about a dozen of her shoots, thought it would be good as groundcover in a segragated bed between the woods & my driveway under trees. When I was digging the shoots, I noticed the SMELL. whew. I told Mom and after reading some of the comments by others, I just wonder if the smell from these buggers are contributing to her migraines.

So I planted the shoots yesterday but I'm 2nd-guessing and wonder if I should go dig them up quick before they plant their seed and I can't control them.

This plant is very, very invasive. The former owner of my house planted it here and now it is spreadin into our lawn and taking over my hostas and day lilys.. when you break the stem the smell is horrible and gives me a headache.

I loved this plant and I don't know what happened to it but it died. I thought the colors of it were just beautiful and had it was beautiful in my goldfish pond for quite awhile. I will replace it as soon as I can.

I rescued a 4' pot of this beautiful plant from the garbage can at the garden center I work at late last July. It was dried up and nearly dead. I planted it at the rock edge of a mixed full sun perenial bed where I hoped it would fill in between the rocks and provide a ground cover under the lilac and red twig dogwood. It neglected it and it promplty appeared to dieout totally. Oh well, no loss I thought. This spring, 7 small plants emerged. I had since read about the bad behavior of this plant and dug it out deeply and thoroughly. I replanted it on a far edge of my property next to the woods, an empty lot and along a drainage ditch which is constantly boggy. Every single tiny piece of root and leaf has since sprung into a pretty plant. The smell of working briefly with even a small amount of the plant did bloom into a nasty headache. Hopefully, it will fill in this wet, weedy area with attractive vegetation without becoming an unwelcome resident in my gardens. The only thing growing near it is a brutally effective hedge of firethorn which I adore, but seldom get close to. Maybe the deer will avoid this entrance to my land with the combination of nasty thorns on the hedge and the noxious smell of the chameleon plant. Time will tell.

Yes, it is invasive. ONLY plant it where you don't care what lives nearby. It's worse than ivy; however, if you like or want a "colorful" ivy-ish plant that has a varietal season, plant this.

You should only plant this flower in a container. You cannot get rid of this plant. It is pretty if you never want to plant anything else in the area. I planted it under a black walnut tree in my shade garden. It has taken over and I cannot get rid of it. I have not found anything that kills it including Round UP.

I wish I'd read this before purchasing 30 plants for the shady side of my house!! LOL!! Now, I'm a little concerned. But, I'm hoping it'll work out. I really just wanted something low maintenace that will spread on it's own and keep me from having to mow so much and it sounds like this is the plant to do the job! I'll be sure to keep it away from my beds, though! Does anyone know if this plant climbs as well?

The previous owners planted this around our house and I CANNOT get rid of it. It grew up though the landscape fabric and is absolutely the worst pest I have ever seen! The smell gives my husband a headache every time he tries to mow it down! DO NOT PLANT THIS STUFF outside of a container, it is so invasive!!!! I tried roundup and straight vinegar, neither remedy worked so if anyone knows anything that will get rid of it, please let me know.

I love this plant. It is pretty and with that citrus aroma, it is very welcome in my Fragrant garden.

I just planted the Chameleon plant last fall so am still getting to know it but so far so good. My hilly yard is quite shaded and there was always a big bare "dust bowl" patch under the pines that seemed perfect for it. It has covered this area very nicely and already this year, the front yard looks much better than it did. It has spread a bit already but that's what I wanted it to do - trying to mow the patchy grass under the pines was impossible without spending an hour to pick up the cones first. If all goes well, it will thicken out nicely and I will never have to mow there again! My small property is edged by cement/pavement on 3 sides, with the house on the 4th side, so I am not too worried about the invasiveness of it. Since it has no berries for birds to spread, I doubt it will make its way to my neighbors yards any time soon. My only "complaint" is that so far it has no variegated color to it - just light green. I'm sure that's because the front yard is so shady and I guess that's okay, cos the area still looks better than it did without the groundcover there.

Conditional positive...would not place in a rich garden bed, but ok for a container and very attractive foliage. I have a couple planted in some solid clay soil in the shade, and it definitely is not taking over and spreading very little, but surviving OK.

After finding out that this plant is invasive, I pulled the lot of them out last year.

This year, they've multiplied!

I haven't had any problems as of yet with this plant crowding anything out but it's now unwelcome in my shade garden.

Besides the pretty pink and green contrasting leaves, I don't think this plant has much merit. There are plenty of natives or non-invasives with color that can work for people.

Editted: 7/6/06
I've changed my neutral to a negative. This plant is popping up everywhere. It's hard to get all the runners' roots, especially because it likes hiding under other plant's foliage.

It also STINKS!

Bad bad bad bad. Worse than a houseguest who never leaves. The first year I tried to get rid of it, I pulled it out root by root, dug up the soil and sifted by hand. Last year I used Roundup multiple times. Whoever said this plant just laughs at Roundup is so right. Then, today, I found some starting to sprout. Unreal.

I have had this plant growing in a pot on a rock shelf in the center of my small pond (wintered in the cellar) for several years. It isn't invasive in this situation and it's tri-colored leaves and small white flowers add beautiful color, so I will continue to use it in the pond. I *am* glad that I read about it's invasive qualities here, though, so I won't plant it where it can escape to other parts of the garden.

I didn't know what this was when I found a little volunteer in my garden last year. I thought it was pretty and was hoping it would grow more. However, it must not like my soil. It stayed the same size the whole summer! I guess that's preferable to having it take over! I do think this is a pretty plant, so if it comes back this year, I will dig it out and put it in a container.

For my zone and soil type (alkaline clay) this plant seems a fairly well behaved groundcover, I think I'd equate it with lily of the valley or sedum or ajuga.. I can't speak for other places but here at least I might say it's aggressive but I can't see calling it invasive since it hasn't been able to get out of the perennial bed it's in.. though I'm worried it is probably an invasive in warmer climates with better soils, from reading what other gardeners are writing. I'd say don't plant this plant if you aren't a gardener who enjoys regular weeding of plants to keep them in check.. if allowed this and other aggressive plants will will do exactly what they're supposed to do.. quickly fill any space they can in the garden. And.. uh.. if you happen to garden on some semi-wild land choosing a native groundcover will prevent this plant and others like it from invading native ecosystems. Whoops is that a soapbox? Calm down, I'm all done.

My neighbor tried this along our fenceline, and not only did it take over her bed, but mine. She had the advantage that it was in a narrow bed by a cement driveway, and her idea of beautiful "soil" is clay with every bit of organic matter meticulously picked out and just a few severely pruned plants. I, on the other hand, have turned my entire yard into a garden full of plants, and have worked hard to improve my soil, so it is all I can do just to keep ahead of this invasive plant. And did anyone mention the smell?! LOL After a nauseating evening of taking turns pulling it out with my Mom, we could still smell it on our hands AFTER OUR SHOWER!

Love this for a spot of color in the bog garden but always keep it in a pot. With a bit of shelter in our climate it grows all year.

These work really great in Upside Down Pots. They take a short time to get established but they eventually creep out of the top making for a great show over the entire pot. Also this helps with the invasive problems. One thing remember to water other wise it will get leggy and ugly starting from the bottom.
You can also keep controled around pond areas with a pot with in a pot ( i have a few living successfully this way), cover the unsightly pots with stone to make it more attractive
Very cool plant, The colors are fab and so is the smell. If you fear the invasion keep it in a pot and enjoy.
Victoria

Yes, this plant is invasive, but it seems to look better with lots of water. It also can be grown as a bog plant. It comes back every spring, after the frost. But mine has never looked good. I dont know why, it was always scraggly looking. So i took it out, but it does spread and i mean spreads FAST! Be careful. You Might just want to plant it in a container and have the container sit in water. More watter = better looking plant! It does have very pretty leaves. And they are scented!

Although this can be rather invasive, it can cover a multitude of sins in any area where weeds grow more quickly than desirable plants. They provide a great varigated leaf, and mine range from pink on the edges through various shades of green to yellow in the centers. Tiny white flowers appear in the spring and they are practically maintenance free. In my opinion- and they have surrounded my other perenials, including my roses- the roots of the roses and all of the other plants are not affected by their presence because they do not go as deeply as do the other perenials. I see no problem with them. Lots of neighboors have requested plugs and they like them as well.

I loved this plant until it took over a small garden in the front of the house. The houttuynia was planted as a groundcover under shrubs in the garden. As the shrubs had overgrown the area, they were removed but the schrubs had contained the houttuynia. We planned to replant after a roofing and construction project. In the past year the houttuynia are no longer a "nice ground cover". They have become a noxious invasive weed. I don't know what to do to rid the space of them. Any help would be appreciated. Would lime be useful- I have no problem finding very acid soil.

Terribly invasive. I've tried pulling, yanking, vegetation killer...nothing has worked! The roots grew under the brick of my house so I don't think I'll ever get rid of it. It grows at various levels under the surface of the garden. Someone has to have a better solution as to ridding the garden of this plant!

I've also found chameleon plant to be extremely invasive. I tried to get rid of it last year by spraying it with Roundup. The first application had no effect. The second one killed some of it. The most effective method I've found is just to keep pulling it up as it appears, with as much root as possible.

Update: I just received a message from a board member asking for a progress report. Even after the two applications of Roundup in 2005, I'm still seeing shoots come up periodically. I've been pulling up new plants whenever I see them and they are, at least, pretty limited in number.

In the meantime, I've talked to other gardening friends who have had similar experiences. They've all spent years trying to eradicate it.

It's apparently from east Asia and grows from Nepal to Thailand to Korea. It's in the Himalayan room of the local conservatory.

Here's a link to further info: [HYPERLINK@www.uni-graz.at]

This plant is more invasive than Creeping Charlie. I plan on removing it this fall and hope someone can tell me the best way to eradicate it. It definitly spreads underground but I have yet to determine how deep in order to get it all out. If you have a big area to cover , and no close neighbors, it is definitly a fast growing ground cover!

Just take this plant for what it is -- a lovable thug! It is too beautiful to avoid completely.... just be sure to keep it dry, don't feed it, and when it starts to get invasive in spite of you, get out the propane weed torch. When I moved, I forgot to take some with me, because it was on a dry slope I forgot about, and I actually bought some! I'm letting the houttuynia and the aegopodium duke it out!

I just bought it, it is quite beautiful, but from all notes above, I will keep it in a hanging pot!

DO NOT start this plant in a flower bed!!! It will choke out any existing plant. And should you transplant something from a bed growing with this plant, watch VERY closely for tiny shoots and remove them. The tiniest piece of root from this plant will eventually take over. Does anyone know of a way to get rid of this stuff?

WAY too invasive..can't get rid of it. Noxious smell when working with it. Terrible skin reaction after trying to handle roots without gloves (anybody else experience this?) Pretty, but not worth the headache!

This plant is exremely invasive and difficult to remove. A special note: Both my wife and duaghter suffer from migraines, and both find the aroma from fresh cut chameleon plant as a trigger for migraines. If you suffer from migraines, do not plant this in your yard, or have someone else remove it for you.

Horribly invasive. It comes up right through the middle of my hostas. I pulled shoots yesterday for over an hour and had to work very hard not to break stems of hosta. I would NEVER plant this again. The strong lemony smell becomes sickening as you try to pull shoots. Any tips for ridding of this plant that actually is crowding out giant hostas?

San Antonio, TX
I put 6 of these plants in the quart-size pots in which they were purchased around a pistache tree next to my patio inbetween other large decorator containers with liriope planted in them. Then, I placed cypress bark mulch all the way to the lip of the container (I had placed edgers in the shape of on oval around the tree to hold the mulch). The decorator pots sit on bricks buried in the mulch. Why did I do this? The soil around the tree was full of roots and nothing would grow there without adding a lot of dirt. The chameleon plants need watered frequently during the middle and latter part of August, but I water the mulch which helps. I have an old small satellite dish attached to the tree about 6 feet from the ground which serves as a birdbath (I know, kinda strange, but it works great!). The birds splash water on the plants below which keeps them moist also. The chameleon plants have done very well in the filtered sunlight and are beautiful as the colors change on them. New plants sprang up in the mulch - some from seed and some from runners. The plants have not been hard to remove because they are growing in pure mulch. I was shocked that they would grow in mulch.

Thank you for noting that they are invasive. I did not know this and had not read this on any website listing that I checked before I "planted" them. Today, I was going to transplant some to a "real" flowerbed, but decided that I had better check out this database first. I am glad I did!! I will not place any of these in another spot. I love these plants and am disappointed that they are such pests. They are now prisoners in the "fake" flowerbed. Note: each pot when purchased cost $8.99 - too bad I can not spread them around to make them cost effective.

We LOVE this plant. I didn't know that it was a water-lover, and it's growing beautifully on our steep rocky hillside here in NC's northwestern Appalachians. I never water it - it just gets whatever rain comes along. It's quite hardy, even through our snowy & icey winters. I also have this in our perennial garden, and haven't found it to be a bit invasive, as opposed to what others have said. This plant looks lovely with our hosta, daylilies, astilbe, sedum, coneflowers, daisies, etc. If you like a plant with lots of color, hardy, takes care of itself, and reliable, you'll ADORE the chameleon plant!

Detailed plant info:
[HYPERLINK@www.mobot.org]

Warning: Do not plant Chameleon Plant in a perennial bed. It spreads through underground runners that wind their way through roots of your other plants. When you dig and divide your perennials and move divisions to other parts of your garden, you may unwittingly transport Chameleon Plant to another site. I bought this plant in the "groundcover" section of a local nursery and boy did it cover the ground. I've been trying to get rid of it for several years but, as another writer commented, you must get every root or the whole sad cycle begins again.
By the way, this plant laughs at Roundup. Any suggestions for getting rid of it permanently?

I have this growing under a corkscrew willow. It is shaded. It has taken over, crowding out weeds. I have Dutch amaryllis planted in with it. It is closer to 18 inches tall, and does not have the variagated colors but is just green. The flowers are white amd 1.5 inches wide. A few leaves are variagated. I don't know if it has mutated to all green leaves or it is dependent upon exposure to sunlight. It is certainly a successful plant.

I can barely keep this plant alive. The ones planted in the soil died. The one in the water garden struggles along. This does not appear to be a good plant for a dry climate with alkaline soil and alkaline tap water.

Its me Beckykay and I have had these plants and put them in a container, I was told they are invasive I did enjoy them in the conatiner to hang over the side and placed upright plants in the center. I don't think I well buy anymore because of the invasive attitude they have. Thx.

GIVEN ANY AMOUNT OF WATER, THIS PLANT WILL TAKE OVER EVERY INCH OF A FLOWER BED AND SURROUNDING AREA. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO CONTROL. YOU MUST DIG UP EVERY SPECK OF ROOT OR YOU'LL BE SEEING IT AGAIN. IF YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE IT, PUT IT IN A POT WITH A SAUCER AND KEEP AN EYE ON IT.
P.S. THE ROOTS SMELL HORRIBLE!!

Holy cow! This plant was invasive and difficult to control in my setting. It was recommended as a border plant but quickly spread throughout the area via underground runners. I removed it from my garden about 5 years ago but continue to get stray sprouts. The leaves and stems have a strong, citrus-like smell when crushed. The plant is attractive but needs a lot of room.

This groundcover will also do well in containers.
Loves moisture but will adapt and behave less agressively in dryer soils. Also good for aquatic gardens.