Mind-your-own-business
Lush carpets of mind-your-own-business look great filling gaps in paving and walls, but as this plant can grow from the tiniest piece of stem, it can quickly spread into areas where it is not wanted.
Quick facts
- The botanical name for mind-your-own-business is Soleirolia soleirolii; it is also commonly known as baby’s tears
- Mind-your-own-business prefers damp shade, but will grow and spread in most conditions
- Ground-dwelling invertebrates find shelter in its dense, evergreen foliage
- It also makes a good foliage houseplant for humid rooms
- If you need to control mind-your-own-business, non-chemical methods are effective
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What does mind-your-own-business look like?
Mind-your-own-business is a creeping evergreen
Though they only grow to 5cm (2in) tall, individual plants can grow over 1m (3ft) wide.
Is mind-your-own-business a weed?
Mind-your-own-business is well-known for its ability to creep and spread, even in difficult growing conditions, and gardeners use this to their advantage when planting it to fill gaps in paving and drystone walls. It can be used as a lawn substitute in damp shade, used to create green walls and can even be used to create living sculptures, growing over chicken wire packed with growing media.
Frequently asked questions about controlling mind-your-own-business
Here are our answers to your most common questions about dealing with mind-your-own-business:
How invasive is mind-your-own-business?
Mind-your-own-business spreads quickly and easily by its creeping, rooting stems. Keeping a single clump in check is not too difficult with regular maintenance, but as its stems can easily be detached and moved around the garden, and tiny stem sections overlooked when weeding, a single plant can quickly become several. It can be especially troublesome in lawns, as mowing chops up and distributes the stems.
Do I need to get rid of mind-your-own-business?
No – allowing mind-your-own-business to fill gaps in paving and walls, grow as ground cover in mature, shady beds, or grow among grasses in a species-rich lawn is a great way to boost the biodiversity of your garden.
What is the easiest way to kill mind-your-own-business?
If you have mind-your-own-business growing where it is not wanted, there are a few ways to remove it:
In beds and borders
- Remove plants with a trowel or hand fork – mind-your-own-business isn’t deep-rooting so is easily prized from the soil. Be thorough, removing as many pieces of stem as you can.
- Avoid digging and hoeing – as this can chop up and spread the rooting stems. Instead, where mind-your-own-business is dense and widespread, use a sharp spade to skim-off and remove the topmost layer of soil, minimising soil disturbance to lower layers.
- Supress weed growth – cover soil cleared of mind-your-own-business with an 8cm (3in) thick layer of organic matter to block out light and smother any regrowth. Alternatively, fill gaps in beds with mat-forming ground cover plants.
In lawns
- Remove plants and repair patches – use a trowel or hand fork to prize individual plants or small clumps from the soil and repair any resulting bare patches. This is best done in April or September to coincide with the best times to sow grass seed and lay turf.
- Lightly scarify – use a spring-tined rake to remove the bulk of mind-your-own-business stems in autumn, encouraging denser grass growth.
- Rake before you mow – this raises stems up for the mower blades. Just be sure to rake up and remove lawn clippings afterwards so stem sections don’t re-root.
- Encourage a healthy lawn – follow a lawn maintenance regime in spring/summer and autumn to encourage dense, healthy grass growth that will outcompete mind-your-own-business.
Should I use weedkiller?
No – as mind-your-own-business can be controlled using non-chemical methods, there is no need to use a weedkiller. Mind-your-own-business is resistant to selective weedkillers for lawns, so although control here can be tricky, non-chemical methods are still your best option.
For more information, see our page on Weeds: non-chemical controls.
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