PlantFiles: Bacopa
Sutera cordata

I have bought 4 of these plants, and 3 have died within 2
months. Not sure what went wrong--I went by all the rules.
The one that is still alive, is barely hanging on. I live in
Louisiana--I won't buy another.

I use it to fill my plumeria pots. They seem to co-exist quite happily. My pot is in a bright shade location.

I purchased one bacopa in the spring of 2007 and it is now several plants in various pots and in the ground. It roots easily from cuttings, spreads consistently, and made it through the winter during which we had some freezing temps and also several days of snow.

In years past I've used this delicate looking plant as my bigger pots' fillers. They did beautiful job as an added highlight interest. After I've learned from others' experiences. I definately try to plant them as ground covers. Easy care, grow rapidly in semi-sun/shade area in zone 7b.

What a work-horse! I've planted several of these little beauties all throughout my deep-shade garden and they seem to be very happy. It seems that an inch is added a weeek in this ground-hugging plant. It likes to be watered regularly, but did survive a bit of neglect. It also survived some frost this winter!

I love it!

We planted two bacopa last year on a stone wall and they exceeded our expectations! Both grew all season long (even through a VERY hot summer) and bloomed the entire time. They grow very quickly and if left alone they may overrun nearbly low growing plants, so trimming is definitely neccessary.

I like this plant very much. Perfect for planting in a pot with other plants, it trails down the edge and blooms constantly. Mine loves the afternoon sun it gets. I have kept it very wet, and it has rained a lot, and it is incredibly lush - it loves those conditions. Also, you should know that the foliage smells very strongly when touched, and some people don't like the smell. I don't mind it myself.

It also does bloom from "dead" foliage, so even if it looks like it is dead, try watering it and giving it sun, it might come back. It is a perfect trailing plant in a hanging basket. However, if you don't keep it constantly moist, it will start sacrificing branches and letting them grow brown and crispy. Even though it may bloom from the dead growth, it ends up looking rather ratty. I've had best luck by cutting off any dead foliage from dry spells and trying to do better about keeping it wet - that has resulted in a green and lush looking plant.

I've also taken a few clippings and it rooted fairly easily. I just stripped the bottom leaves and put it in a cup of water by a bright window. It grew roots in 2-3 weeks.

I live near Vancouver, BC - zone 7b or 8a - it seems to be climbing with global warming.

I bought bacopa (Sutera cordata), the first two years I've used it, to add to planters & hanging baskets I make myself. It grew vigorously & I would have to clip it back to prevent it taking over the planters. Much better than something that refuses to grow!

But since then, I haven't had to buy any more as I found that it dropped tiny seeds & whenever they landed on soil, tiny plants came up the following spring that I transplanted & used instead.

I've taken cuttings from them too & overwintered them inside. Since our winters are wet & cloudy, they don't get enough sun inside. If you have grow lights, this can be overcome. But I still used the inside plant to take cuttings & develop bushy plants for transplanting in pots outside in spring.

I've only grown bacopa in planters & pots which means they don't survive our winters, mild as they are. This year, I'm going to put some into the ground to see if they make it through. If they do, I'll let others know.

I find for bloom coverage, the white outdoes the others. The 'blue' I got one year was barely blue (looked more grey at a distance), & there wasn't nearly as many flowers. Maybe the newer hybrids are better as this was a few years back.

Whenever I transplant other plants from their plastic containers into new ones, I like adding it around my major plant, it brightens them up.

I saw this plant in a "greenhouse" at my local food store. I purchased the large hanging basket because of the delicate white flowers and beautiful green trailing leafy stems. It was planted of course in a cheap plastic hanging pot. After almost loosing it from the high winds, it transplanted it in a clay pot, I thought I had lost it, but....it's now coming back beautifully, it has even produced leaves and flowers on some of the "dead" stems. I will be keeping it inside through the winter so that it will once again look as beautiful as when I bought it (I hope). To think I almost threw it away!! I also purchased 3 starters and planted them right away in a clay hanging pot, it's small but beautiful. Bacopa is a very beautiful hardy plant..but it does love water. I have gyp water that is ran through a water softner, I'm not sure if this is inhibiting it's growth or not.

I have just added this delightful looking plant to my porch garden. I will have to learn as much as I can about growing tips but from my understanding this plant does well when it's fertilized twice a month in a garden and once a week in a container. It also does extremely well if a well- balanced plant food high in nitrogen is used.

I will be sure and let everyone know how mine progresses.

This plant can be started from cutting, remove the lower leaves and start in soil with a cover. It grows roots within a week. I have only had success with the whites, the mauve/blues seem to go moldy and die.

I have been a fan of Bridal Veil for many years but Bacopa has as many blossoms and they are bigger and whiter.

This dainty little plant is usually grown as a trailing plant in baskets, but can be used as groundcover. In warm climates it may survive its first winter. Very easy to propagate from cuttings.