| Description | Crown vetch (Securigera varia) is widely planted along highways to control erosion off slopes. However, caution should be exercised when using this plant, as once established, it can become very aggressive and difficult to eradicate. |
|---|---|
| Plant Type | All Plants, Groundcovers and vines |
| Hardiness Zone | #4 |
| Sunlight | full sun, tolerates light shade |
| Soil & Site | Tolerates infertile poor soils where few other plants will grow, in rich soil it quickly spreads. Prefers a ph of 6.0-7.5, will not tolerate below 5.5. |
| Flowers | The dense umbels of pea-like flowers are on long peduncles arising from the leaf axil. The banner petals are pink on top, the wing petals are white, and the keel is visible under some wing petals. |
| Leaves | alternate, pinnately compound, 11-25 leaflets and green |
| Stems | Spread by rhizomes forming a tangled mass as they grow together, becoming difficult to walk through. |
| Dimensions | 1-2 feet high |
| Maintenance | "If used in an urban site, it should be cut to keep it compact. It doesn't like to be closely cut, and this may be a way of controlling its spread. I have observed this at the school where I teach. In the wooded area, the Crown Vetch has crept in a solid mass up to the edge of the cross-country course. This course is always mowed, and the plant is nonexistent. Crown vetch has jumped over to the other side of the course and is becoming invasive into the natural area. Now it is fighting it out with Canadian Goldenrod." |
| Propagation | Seeds which need to be inoculated or division of crowns. |
| Misc Facts | The word Coronilla is latin for little crown describing the dense cluster of flowers. Europe |
| Notes & Reference | #68-Groundcovers for the Midwest (Voight, Hamilton, Giles), #274-Site Authors' observations and growing experiences |
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