Oct 19th, 2009
Plant Creepers – An Introduction
If you have ever purchased a type of plant like mint, you will have probably noticed plant creepers that have formed from the main body of the specimen and have tried to grow from its pot or location in the garden. These plant creepers are a part of the plant’s natural reproductive phase, an ability that allows them to create new, independent plants. This ability clones the parent plant to ensure life without the requirement of a male and female plant to pollinate one another.
However, plant creepers can cause issues indoors and outdoors. Indoors, they will extend vines wherever they sense a possible place to clone itself and create a new plant. If you have several plants near each other, and one has the ability to spread plant creepers, it will do so. This will cause overcrowding in the pots that are infected with the creepers. If you have plant creepers, you need to make sure they are pruned frequently, or far enough from other plants that they cannot clone themselves quickly.
Something that will surprise first time plant tenders is how quickly plant creepers clone themselves. Some types can clone within several days, effectively breeding in another pot, unknown to you until you see that your pot has a new specimen. If the new plant is left alone, you will find that the plant may or may not retract the original plant creeper. Then it can become a nuisance if you wish to separate the plants.
Should you have products of plant creepers that you want to keep, you should transfer them to a new pot as soon as the plant has separated from the parent, or can be separated safely. The plant needs to have begun establishing its own root system before it is safe to transfer. In some cases, only the core is required. Plant creepers that can also breed through the planting of leaves are particularly difficult to remove once they have spread, as they have several methods of forming new plants.
The best way to prevent a difficult to remove plant infestation from your pots is to control the plant creepers as they are forming. Pruning will not cause any harm to your plant. In most cases, the pruning will actually promote the growth of your plant, as it will instinctively try to regenerate what has been lost.
Most plants with plant creepers are non dangerous. However, several species, such as poison oak, can quickly infest a yard. These breeds of plants should be destroyed, including the root systems you can find, as the plant will be able to regenerate.
