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Blue Star Creeper

Isotoma fluviatilis (eye-so-TOW-mah flew-vee-ah-TE-liss)

Family: Campanulaceae Unknown Groundcover (<1 ft)

Blue Star Creeper is an evergreen, herbaceous perennial, spreading ground cover with small, light blue flowers that blossom in spring. The plant is a native of Australia with a low-growing habit, often creating a mat as it forms roots and spreads. Although it throws off runners, it can be contained with a deep landscaping edging material. It flowers in early spring into summer and produces a carpet of white-blue five-petalled star-shaped flowers, making it a colorful groundcover. It is often found growing in moist sand or mud along the margins of creeks and streams, or among granite outcrops and wet depressions. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 51 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 5 - Groundcover (<1 ft)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Ground Cover; Herbaceous Perennial
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Light
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil drainage
Occasionally Wet
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 2 in. - 0 ft. 3 in. | Width: 1 ft. 2 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
5 - Groundcover (<1 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Creeping; Spreading
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Broadleaf Evergreen
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Sheath
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Linear; Oblong
Leaf margin
Crenate; Entire
Leaf size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Tiny green leaves up to a half inch in length and a quarter inch wide. The leaf blade is oblong, elliptic or linear in shape, although the lower leaves may sometimes be ovate or obovate in shape.
Flower color
Blue; White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Solitary
Flower shape
Star
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Light blue 1/4 inch flowers in spring and into summer.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Capsules are obconical to obovoid and asymmetric, 1/4 inch long and 1/8 inch in diameter.
Stem color
Green
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Origin
E.astern and Southeastern Australia
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall
Fruit type
Capsule
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Container; Near Septic
Landscape theme
Rock Garden
Design feature
Mass Planting
Garden tags
#evergreen #moist soil #fine texture #blue flowers #spreading #groundcover #lawn alternative #partial shade tolerant #container plant #herbaceous perennial
Problems & Resistance
Resistant to
Foot Traffic
Propagation
Division

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.