Description of Anagellis tenella (Bog Pimpernel)

Anagallis tenella is bog pimpernel, now often listed as Lysimachia tenella. It’s a tiny native creeper for acidic, peaty wet ground. Use it when you want a low plant that looks natural rather than planted.

Appearance

It makes fine trailing stems with small rounded leaves. In summer it produces little starry flowers, usually pink with a pale eye. It stays low, often under 5cm, but it can thread through moss and short grasses.

Care Guide

It needs constant moisture and acidic conditions. It does not cope with rich compost or drying out.

• Sun: Full sun to light shade.
• Soil: Acidic peat-based bog mix or peaty mud.
• Water: Keep permanently damp to wet.
• Feeding: Do not feed. It prefers lean conditions.
• Competition: Keep vigorous ground covers away.

If you see it vanishing, it is usually being shaded or the soil has become too rich.

Suitability for Bog Garden

This suits bog gardens that are built with acidic media, especially around Sarracenia-style bogs. It works best on the surface where it can creep between other small plants.

It is not suited to neutral, heavily fertilised bog beds.

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