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By mikem@thecolumbiastar.com | on September 01, 2022

The non-native chameleon plant is an invasive groundcover, a rapid grower thriving everywhere and anywhere it takes root.

A neighbor showed me a plant brought back by his wife from a trip to Pennsylvania. Donors assured her “the plant grows well everywhere and anywhere.” He asked me to identify it and its landscape requirements— light, space, soil, and water—in order to transplant it into his yard.

The attractive plant, Houttuynia cordata ‘Chameleon’ has heart-shaped variegated leaves with splashes of red, burgundy, crème, and green. In spring four showy white bracts surround inconspicuous tiny greenish-white flowers in one-inch spikes. So the show comes from the leaves, not the flowers. The herbaceous perennial growing nine-15 inches tall and spreading horizontally indefinitely and energetically via rhizomatous roots is in the Saururaceae family aka Lizard’s Tail. In its native south Asia territory—China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam—the plant is valued for its medicinal properties and as a culinary herb. Leaves and roots are consumed in Asian cuisine. Crushed leaves have a citrusy scent as well as a fishy smell. Fish mint and fishy smelling herbs are common names in Asia.

If grown in shade, chameleon plant leaves are more green than variegated.

The plant has naturalized in North America hardiness zones 4-10. In other words it can and has spread across the lower 48 states. The adaptable plant performs well in full sun or full shade, in all soil types although clay slows it down a bit. Full sun brings the brightest variegated leaves. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution where the invasive groundcover can be kept in check by fixed structures or concrete barriers— buildings, curbs, sidewalks, and large containers. Since the chameleon plant thrives in moist or wet soils, it is used as a groundcover around water margins of ponds, bogs, and rain gardens. In moist areas pair the plant with canna, beebalm, elephant ears, lobelia, corkscrew rush, and moneywort. In sloping areas, the plant can slow soil erosion. Although it has a fast rate of growth, it can be pruned at anytime. But pruning won’t tame this rampant grower.

Before adding the chameleon to your garden, know your tolerance level for invasives. Digging up by the roots can be problematic because the rhizomes are fragile and break apart in the soil. Root fragments re-sprout. Gardener Margaret

Roach tried covering her soil with black plastic, aka tarping, but the technique didn’t eradicate the roots. Soil solarization, the use of solar energy trapped beneath clear plastic to kill the invasive plant, is difficult to accomplish, too.

The chameleon plant has no serious pests or diseases that could help eradicate it once it has taken over your yard. And the use of chemical controls on invasive species can affect beneficial insects and nearby plants.

By planting the chameleon plant between a sidewalk and brick foundation and keeping a pruning shears nearby, the neighbor has contained the colorful chameleon. Just be forewarned of gifts that “grow well everywhere and anywhere.”

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