How to Grow and Care for Herniaria

Smooth rupturewort is a garden-worthy carpet plant, prized for its softness. This perennial groundcover is very pleasant to walk on and it's said it releases a musky fragrance when stepped upon. It doesn't grow over 8 cm and it even offers a winter interest when the green foliage goes into bronze or red.

A name like hairy rupture-wort (Herniaria hirsuta) might not sound appealing, but the plant was welcome in ancient times for its supposed treatment of hernias (ruptures). Nowadays, hairy rupture-wort is a highly inconspicuous, low-growing, mat-forming annual most frequently used as ground cover.

Gray rupturewort is a herb that belongs to a family that hosts a plethora of species considered to be weeds. However, their flowers do attract Monarch butterflies. Gray rupturewort has an interesting growth habit: it is able to grow vertically by climbing on top of itself rather than relying on other nearby structures.

Hairy rupturewort is a low-growing, spreading perennial with a silver-gray tinge, well-suited to gravelly soils. Its tiny, round leaves and inconspicuous green flowers are adaptations to reduce moisture loss, allowing hairy rupturewort to thrive in dry, open areas. The plant's dense mat-forming habit serves as ground cover, resisting trampling and limiting weed growth.