Skip to main content

Don’t be fooled by it’s silly name! Turkey tangle frogfruit might be the perfect ground cover for your lawn

Growing a turkey tangle frogfruit lawn

Bees pollinating Phyla nodiflora
Nennieinszweidrei / Pixabay

There’s been a recent surge in homeowners looking for better alternatives to grass lawns. Grass can be difficult to maintain, isn’t always native, and doesn’t make the healthiest ecosystem. There are several popular alternatives, such as moss lawns, but moss doesn’t work for everyone. Introducing turkey tangle frogfruit! Yes, it does have a ridiculous name, but the benefits this plant can offer are no joke!

Recommended Videos

Why does turkey tangle frogfruit make a good ground cover?

Turkey tangle frogfruit is the common name for Phyla nodiflora. It’s a low-growing perennial in the verbena family, and it’s native to the Southern U.S. In addition to being native, turkey tangle frogfruit is tolerant of many conditions that grass may not be, including drought, heat, direct sunlight, and most soil types.

Phyla nodiflora grows quickly and will spread to cover your entire yard. One of the best reasons to grow turkey tangle frogfruit, however, is that it has beautiful white and pale purple flowers. These flowers are particularly popular with butterflies.

Purple verbena flowers
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Planting turkey tangle frogfruit

If you want to use Phyla nodiflora as a ground cover, you’ll need to remove the old ground cover first. You can also do a partial seeding, spreading the seeds over areas where the grass is thin. Dampen the ground, then scatter the seeds. This helps the seeds stick to the soil and lessens the risk of them being immediately washed away.

Add a thin layer of soil over the seeds. They don’t need to be fully covered, but a partial cover will prevent birds from eating all of your seeds. Keep the soil moist while the seeds are germinating and you should begin to see sprouts within a week or two.

Pink and white frogfruit flowers
imdiegorose / Pixabay

How to care for frogfruit

Turkey tangle frogfruit is drought tolerant and will recover from underwatering quickly. You won’t need to water it often, but it does appreciate extra water during droughts. Prune or mow it when it becomes leggy or out of control, but not while it is blooming. Avoid using pesticides during this time, too. From May through October, while the plant is blooming, you can also see caterpillars and butterflies.

Although the caterpillars will cause minor damage as they eat the leaves, they are unlikely to cause serious damage to your lawn. A few of the butterflies you can expect to see are hairstreaks, white peacocks, common buckeyes, and phaon crescents. In many cases, it’s not necessary to fertilize turkey tangle frogfruit. However, if you’re growing it in poor soil or have noticed a decrease in its vigorous growth, then a boost from fertilizer can be helpful.

Now you’re prepared to grow this delightful native plant! Whether you’re planning on replacing your entire yard, a portion of it, or even just adding it to your pollination garden as an ornamental, you’ll be delighted by how simple it is to grow. As an added bonus, you can share its unusual name with your guests!

Cayla Leonard
Cayla Leonard is a writer from North Carolina who is passionate about plants.  She enjoys reading and writing fiction and…
Should you be using Vinca minor as a ground cover in your lawn? This is what you need to know
Is Vinca minor right for your lawn? Here are the pros and cons
Purple periwinkle (Vinca minor) flowers

People are starting to look for alternatives to grass lawns, whether it's because they’re easier to maintain, better for the environment, or just more attractive. From Irish moss lawns to creeping thyme, there are plenty of interesting plants you can grow as a ground cover. One popular grass alternative is Vinca minor, also known as common periwinkle. However, is this plant the best choice for your lawn? Here’s everything you need to know to make your decision!
Pros of Vinca minor
Vinca minor provides several benefits as a ground cover. It’s low maintenance and tolerates drought, sun, and shade. This is also a low-growing plant, which means you don’t need to worry about mowing it to keep the height down. It also grows quickly and vigorously, spreading to fill your entire lawn. It will spread to fill in empty patches, helping repair damaged sections and letting you save on seeds.

Its vigorous growth also gives your lawn a thick, lush appearance. This, coupled with the sleek, dark green leaves and beautiful blue or purple flowers, makes it particularly attractive as a ground cover. During mid to late spring, it produces so many flowers your lawn may look more blue than green! It will occasionally bloom again during summer and fall, although these are usually smaller.

Read more
Complete guide to red thread lawn disease: How to keep your yard lush and green
Tips to prevent and treat red thread lawn disease
Freshly mowed lawn with a white push mower

Many homeowners want a lush green lawn to border their homes. However, problems can crop up that prevent you from reaching this goal. Some are relatively easy to fix, such as brown spots on your lawn. Others are more complicated, and the cause needs to be identified before the problem can be solved, like if your grass starts changing color. One such problem is red thread lawn disease. Luckily, it's a problem that's easy to identify and treat if you know what to look for. Here’s everything you need to know about preventing and treating red thread lawn disease.

What is red thread lawn disease?
Red thread lawn disease is a fungal infection caused by Laetisaria fuciformis. The earliest signs of red thread are often brown patches in the grass, followed by thin, red or pink strands of fungus. These threads may be hard to notice at first, but as the infection progresses, they become difficult to miss.

Read more
What is buffalo grass, and should it be in your lawn?
Everything you need to know about buffalo grass care
white dog lying on green lawn

Buffalo grass, Bouteloua dactyloides, is a North American prairie grass, native to the high plains of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It also makes a tough, low-maintenance lawn grass. If you’re looking for a sustainable alternative to traditional ornamental lawn grasses, it could be a good option.

What is buffalo grass?
Buffalo grass evolved in a climate with hot summers, bitterly cold winters, and an annual rainfall average of 15 to 30 inches. It is a co-dominant species, along with blue grama, in the shortgrass prairie ecosystem and also has an important presence in mixed grass prairies. Throughout the arid west, bison, jackrabbits, prairie dogs, pronghorns, and white-tailed deer use it as forage. It’s also a larval host plant for green skipper butterflies.

Read more