Ornamental · Scrophulariaceae
Bacopa
Sutera cordata
Hold it at even moisture in sun or light shade, and bacopa cascades in white bloom from summer to frost.
Partial sun
Every 1–3 days
USDA 9–11
3–6 in · 8–15 cm
Overview
Bacopa is a low, trailing annual that spills over the rim of a basket or window box in a curtain of small flowers. A member of the figwort family, it hails from South Africa, where it colonizes moist, shaded banks. In cultivation it earns its place as a filler and spiller, threading between taller plants and softening the edge of any container.
The flowers carry the show. Tiny five-petaled blooms, white in most forms, open the length of the trailing stems and keep producing from early summer until frost. White dominates the trade, but you can track down lilac, pale blue, and scarlet red named cultivars when you want something off the standard palette.
It demands little except the one thing it will not bend on, which is water. Supply bacopa with even, steady moisture and a position in morning sun or light shade, and it grows fast and flowers without interruption. Allow it to dry, even for a moment, and it answers by dropping its buds and falling silent until you correct the lapse.
Care
The short version: part sun to light shade, with steady, even moisture that never dries out, planted in rich, well-drained soil and fed a balanced liquid feed through the growing season.
Light
Bacopa performs best in partial sun, at its happiest with morning light and a measure of afternoon shade. It can manage full sun where summers stay mild, but under genuine heat that calls for close attention to the soil, since intense sun draws a container down fast.
Water
This is the one demand bacopa will not excuse. Hold the soil uniformly moist at all times and never let it run dry, or the buds will drop and flowering will cease. Through heat, and most of all in a hanging basket, that frequently means watering every day.
Soil
Plant into moist but well-drained ground, be it loam, clay, or sand, and blend organic matter into a container mix to retain moisture at the roots. Bacopa is forgiving on pH, accepting anything from 6.0 to 8.0.
Humidity
Standard outdoor humidity suits it well, so there is no figure to chase. Consistent soil moisture counts far more than the air, and open airflow around the stems denies powdery mildew a foothold.
Feeding
Apply a balanced, all-purpose liquid fertilizer roughly once a month through the growing season to sustain the flush of flowers. Keep a light hand, though, because excess feed pushes leaves at the expense of blooms.
Pruning
When the stems stretch leggy or sprawl out of form, shear them back during the growing season. Cutting spurs fresh growth and a renewed wave of flowers, so do not hesitate to prune it hard once it begins to tire.
Size & spacing
Bacopa keeps low at just 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) tall, yet trails broadly to a spread of 12 to 24 inches (30 to 61 cm). Allow each plant the room to cascade so it can drape a basket edge or run between its neighbors.
When to plant
Bacopa is heat-loving and intolerant of frost. Sow seed indoors in late winter, transplant once the cold has lifted in spring, and it carries flowers from early summer clear through fall until the first frost closes the season.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Start seed indoors in late winter to early spring, about 8 to 10 weeks before the last frost.
- Plant: Set out after danger of frost has passed in spring, once soil and air have warmed.
- Harvest: Blooms summer through fall (roughly June to October).
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 9–11
Temperature: down to -7°C
Troubleshooting
Nearly every problem bacopa develops comes back to water, supplied either too sparingly or too freely. Train your eye to catch the first cues on the flowers and stems and you can intervene before a minor lapse costs you the plant. Pair what you observe with the entries below, then act while there is still time to recover.
Yellow leaves, soft stems, and a plant that folds
When water has nowhere to drain, the roots and stem bases suffocate and break down, the classic profile of root and stem rot. Lift the plant and the roots will read brown and soft while the medium stays sodden. Correct the drainage first, pull back on watering, repot into fresh mix if the damage is still light, and discard any plant that has already turned to pulp.
Fix:
- Improve drainage and stop overwatering
- Remove and discard severely rotted plants
- Repot into fresh, well-drained mix if caught early
Flowering quits and the unopened buds let go
This is the signature response to dry soil, and it is not a sign that the plant is hungry. A single dry-down at the root zone tells bacopa to abort its buds and stop blooming until water returns. Restore an even watering schedule, give it a daily soak through heat, and layer on mulch or a moisture-holding mix so the medium cannot bake again.
Fix:
- Resume consistent, even watering to keep the soil uniformly moist
- Water daily during hot summer weather
- Mulch or use a moisture-retentive container mix to buffer drying
A chalky white film coating leaves and stems
That coating is powdery mildew, a fungus that takes hold where plants sit close and the air hangs still. Thin the planting to move air through it, pull the most heavily coated leaves, and keep moisture off the foliage in the evening so leaf surfaces do not stay damp overnight.
Fix:
- Improve air circulation around the plant
- Remove affected foliage
- Avoid overhead watering late in the day
Deformed shoot tips or a tacky residue on the foliage
Curled tips, pale speckling, and a tacky film are the markers of sap-feeding pests, typically aphids, thrips, or whiteflies. Flip a few leaves and study the growing points for small insects or honeydew. Knock them down with a forceful jet of water, move to insecticidal soap if they persist, and prune out any shoots that are heavily colonized.
Fix:
- Rinse plants with a strong spray of water
- Treat with insecticidal soap if infestations persist
- Monitor regularly and remove heavily infested growth
Toxicity
Reassuring news for homes with pets and young children: garden bacopa is not toxic. The ASPCA does not list it among plants that endanger cats or dogs, and no hazard is known to other animals or to people. An accidental nibble warrants no worry.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Garden bacopa does not appear on the ASPCA toxic list, so a cat that samples a trailing stem faces no harm from it.
Dogs None
A dog may investigate or chew a leaf with no cause for concern, as the plant holds no toxins known to affect them.
Horses Safe
Nothing in this plant threatens a horse. It grows as a low trailing ornamental, not something a grazing animal would typically encounter in a pasture.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can graze bacopa safely, though they tend to treat the tender foliage as forage and leave you with fewer blooms.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep run no poisoning risk from this plant, which is kept in baskets and beds far from grazing land in any case.
Birds Safe
Bacopa is no threat to birds. Backyard hens and visiting wild birds can forage near it freely.
People Safe
The plant is safe for people. It is not raised as food, but a child who tastes a leaf will be unharmed by it.
Varieties
Most bacopa on the market is a named cultivar rather than the straight species, and they differ in flower size, color, and habit. These are the selections worth recognizing by name.
Snowflake
The standard of the trade, a trailer bearing small toothed green leaves and airy sprays of white flowers.
Snowstorm
A tighter, more compact grower whose flowers run distinctly larger than those of the wild species.
Calypso Jumbo White
A trailing selection that grows 4 to 6 inches tall, spreads 14 to 16 inch wide, and opens oversized white blooms.
Blue Showers
Breaks from the norm by blooming in shades of lilac to pale blue instead of white.
African Sunset
Holds a more upright form than its relatives and produces small scarlet red flowers.
How to propagate
Bacopa propagates readily, whether you root cuttings from a plant already in hand or raise the species from seed.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Take cuttings from spring to early summer. · Roots typically form in a few weeks under warm, moist conditions.
Cuttings are the standard method for reproducing named cultivars true to type, since they yield clones of the parent. Take them from spring into early summer, hold them warm and moist, and roots develop within a few weeks.
SeedModerate
Sow in spring, indoors in late winter for transplants. · Several weeks to germinate and grow on before transplanting.
Seed is an option for the plain species but the slower path, needing several weeks to germinate and size up before transplanting. Start it indoors in late winter for spring planting, and bear in mind that named cultivars are reproduced from cuttings rather than seed.
Myths
Garden bacopa is the same medicinal herb sold as a brain or memory supplement.
The supplement comes from Bacopa monnieri, known as water hyssop, an aquatic species of an entirely separate sort. The trailing plant in your basket is Sutera cordata, an ornamental annual with no medicinal application whatsoever.
Bacopa is drought tolerant and fine to let dry out between waterings.
Not so. Allow bacopa to dry and it sheds its buds and stops flowering. The plant demands steady, even moisture, which through summer heat usually translates to a daily watering.