Some buttercups are very attractive wildflowers, and there are even cultivated varieties that are grown for their ornamental and attractive flowers and leaves. Creeping buttercup, on the other hand, is a spreading, perennial weed, which can quickly colonise and take over large areas of the garden if not controlled early.
New plants are produced from seed, but it also spreads through its long runners – roots that produce a large network of new stems and plants – that can colonise large areas if left to their own devices.
The carpets of foliage can smother, strangle and kill smaller plants. The roots can grow in between the roots of cultivated plants, making them awkward to remove and control. They are deeply rooted, making it difficult to dig them out. And they produce low rosettes of foliage in lawns, which can be difficult to control.
Creeping buttercup is worse in moist or wet and heavy clay soils. Although it prefers shade, it will also grow in sunny positions.