PlantFiles: Houttuynia
Houttuynia cordata

I echo everyone else's sentiments about this plant. I think it is pleasing to the eye and can be effective in covering a large area quickly, however it's almost impossible to eradicate.

I have come across a product that is helping me. It's called Vine-X. If you Google it you will find it. It's not expensive but it seems to work better than your average weed and vine killers. It goes to the roots to kill the plant and seems to slow it's spread. What I like about it is that you brush it on the plant rather than spray (and kill nearby plants who are behaving). After only about 24 hours I see the plant dying off. I give it a few days to get to the root and kill it, then I dig up the plant from the roots.

I'm trying to stay on top of all new growth. It's not easy, I think it may take another full season and I should be rid of it.

This plant is now growing THROUGH my retaining wall and invading my lawn!

I live in Gaithersburg, MD and I purchased this plant because I was looking for ground cover in a shady area. I have a very smal front yard (town house), and the two plants that I purchased have multiplied into an invasion. It chokes out everything in it's way. It smells horrible. I would not recommend this plant even if you have a large area. Eventually it will overwhelm everything. The Maryland Cooperative Extension Service suggested that I dig deep to get rid of the roots

I grow this for its culinary value. This plant is used in SE Asian cuisine. In china is known as zhe er gen or yu xing cao (meaning fishy smell). Both the roots and leaves are used. It is, however, quite invasive.

Although this plant is a an excellent ground cover, in my area, zone 8a, it is a very aggressive plant. If you grow it in raised beds, it will cover the bed. It is not a plant that I recommend to gardeners in my area.

Houttuynia cordata is an important herb used in S.E. Asian cooking, particularly popular in Vietnam where it is used fresh in cold rolls, salads and other dishes. Rarely cooked it may be added chopped to a soup at the end of cooking. Should be grown in a container to prevent it becoming rampant. Propagation is easy by division or stem cuttings. Very worth while herb in my opinion.

This one was also very invasive. I like the other one better, this one has no color to it.

although this plant is beautifully variegated and has a sweet flower, and a citrusy smell, it is worse than mint as far as being invasive. be careful where you plant it - it will take over everything! i have just pulled up about a 3' X 10' area where it killed my black eyed susans and a hosta. it even grew under my deck! it has running tubers underground, so it is no easy task to get it all pulled up, and "round up" doesn't even kill it all. a great plant in a confined area or as a total groundcover - just be sure you want it where you plant it!

This is a lovely, cheerful slow growing ground cover that grows in shade and requires little to no care. Reportedly, it can be aggressive when grown in wet full sun.

We had to remove all the Houttuynia due to a broken water pipe. I carefully removed and replaced all of it, taking as much of it in soil as possible, hoping to do little damage. Instead, when I replaced it, it went bonkers for the first time in six years. Now I have hope this will one day cover an entire shaded area.