Common Name: mazus
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Mazaceae
Native Range: Himalayas
Zone: 5 to 8
Height: 0.25 to 0.25 feet
Spread: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to July
Bloom Description: Lavender, purplish-blue with white and yellow markings
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Ground Cover, Naturalize, Rain Garden
Flower: Showy
Tolerate: Wet Soil
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium to wet, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Prefers moist, rich soils. Tolerates foot traffic and an infrequent mowing. Six plants per square yard are sufficient to fill in area of that size.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Mazus reptans is a low-growing ground cover which typically grows only to 2" tall. It spreads by creeping stems which root at the nodes as they go. Features narrow, bright green leaves (to 1" long) that form a dense, attractive carpet of foliage which remains green throughout the growing season and well into the fall. Foliage is evergreen in warm winter climates. Tiny, purplish-blue, tubular, 2-lipped flowers with yellow and white markings appear in small clusters in late spring to early summer.
Genus name comes from the Greek word mazos meaning a teat.
Specific epithet means creeping.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses
Excellent ground cover for small areas. Also effective grown between stepping stones or in rock gardens.