Common Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans)
[ah-JEW-gah REP-tanz]

Evergreen Perennial Low Spreading in the Lamiaceae Family
A tough, fast-spreading evergreen groundcover with spring flower spikes — shade-tolerant, deer-resistant, and famously hard to stop once established.

Ever heard the phrase “too much of a good thing?”

Ajuga reptans (Bugleweed to us laypeople) is a beautiful, 3” tall groundcover that is hardy, evergreen, attracts pollinators, and puts out beautiful cones of flowers for a few months each spring. Quiet and stealthy, it can spread into your lawn and other areas of the garden if not kept in check.

Ajuga is an amazing addition to rock gardens, walkways, and wetter areas. It's tough and once established after a few years, it is an aggressive grower that can withstand almost anything you throw at it. That being said…even deer and rabbits don’t like this stuff. Ajuga forms a dense mat of roots that will smother other plants in its path, and can grow almost anywhere. If you’re looking for a super-tough, resilient, tiny and beautiful beast of a groundcover, Ajuga will not disappoint. If you’re looking for something that “plays nice…” might we recommend a well-behaved alternative?

Pros

  • Thrives in part shade to full sun
  • Deer and rabbit resistant
  • Will grow in most soil and moisture conditions
  • Stays low, making it an excellent alternative to grass
  • Attracts pollinators
  • Will grow in gardens, yards, planters, probably a hot asphalt road…

Cons

  • Likes to grow and grow and grow, sometimes even where you don’t want it
Why Like Native to Europe, where it grows in the understory of mixed woodlands from Britain east into northwestern Russia. In the wild it forms dense, low mats across the forest floor, rooting as it spreads and sending up short spikes of blue-violet flowers each spring — the same fast-spreading habit that makes it such an effective groundcover in cultivation.
Highlights One of the toughest, most reliable evergreen groundcovers in the garden — spreads readily by runners into a dense, weed-smothering mat, blooms with blue-violet flower spikes each spring, and shrugs off deer, rabbits, and nearly any soil condition.
 

Plant Data

Mature Size 4 - 8 inches tall. 12 - 18 inches wide.
Growth Rate Fast
Sun Exposure Full Shade - Full Sun
Moisture Tolerance Dry - Wet: Very adaptable — tolerates conditions from dry shade to occasionally wet or marshy soil, and is drought tolerant once established.
Zones 3a - 10b (Usually hardy to -40° F)
Tags Attracts Birds, Attracts Butterflies, Attracts Hummingbirds, Attracts Pollinators, Colorful Foliage, Container, Deer Resistant, Dry, Edging, Evergreen, Extended Bloom Time, Fall Color, For a Shady Spot, Full Shade, Full Sun, Good for Accents, Good for Borders, Good for Butterfly Garden, Groundcover, Grown For Attractive Foliage, Medium, Non-Allergenic, Normal Soil, Partial Shade, Partial Sun, Perennial, Rabbit Resistant, Shade Tolerant, Spillers, Tolerant of Moist Soil, Variegated Foliage, Well-Drained Soil, Wet, Wet Site Tolerant Blue or Purple Flowering Perennials, Deer Resistant Perennials, Small Perennials, Spring Blooming Perennials
Bloom Period May to June
Flower Color Blue to Purple
 

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Pricing and Availability History

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Field-Grown vs. Greenhouse-Grown Plants

Plants which are well-adapted to our local climate are most often field-grown (outside). Field-grown plants are generally cheaper and have the advantage of already somewhat acclimated to our cold winters, but that means they’re not artificially far along in the spring and tend to bloom at the normal time in our area.

Spring annuals and tender perennials are typically grown in Greenhouses so they can be ready and luxurious exactly when customers want them. Some perennials are also “forced” into early bloom in greenhouses. In May, there can be a very big difference between field-grown and greenhouse-grown plants of the same type. The latter typically look good right away (so they’re a great choice where that’s important), but we typically pay a premium for it.


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We order from a rotating cast of the best nurseries in the Great Lakes region. It looks like we've offered this plant in the past, but the nurseries we're working with this week don't appear to have it in stock at the moment.

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