WHAT KIND OF BULBS SHOULD I USE TO UNDERPLANT AJUGA?

IF I USE AJUGA AS A GROUND COVER, THEN UNDERPLANT IS WITH BULBS, WHAT KIND OF BULBS WOULD YOU SUGGEST?

Are you serious Brenda? UNDER PLANT an ajuga? How can you do that? The Ajuga hug the ground.

Do you mean that the bulbs come up thru the Ajuga? I guess I misunderstood if that is what you meant. But, I wouldn't call that underplanting. Maybe??? Jen

YEP - THAT IS WHAT I WANT TO DO. I WANT TO PLANT A BULB(S) THAT IS A SPRING BLOOMER BEFORE I PLANT AJUGA AS A GROUND COVER. ANY SUGGESTIONS OTHER THAN MAYBE I HAD THE TERM OF WHAT I WANT TO DO A LITTLE MIS-COM-BOB-ULATED.

Do you want it to come up before or after the Ajuga starts growing? Just because you plant it before, does not mean it is going to bloom before. I'm sorry, I need to leave this to someone else, because I am confused. Jen

Brenda, is your bed full sun, part-sun, or shade? How tall do you want the flowers to be? Do you have any favorite bulbs you are thinking of?

As Jnette mentioned, there are bulbs that bloom in spring, fall, and summer. It's probably too late to plant anything that will bloom this summer.

By the way, when persons type in all capital letters it is considered screaming on forums like DG. Thanks

LOL you are right Shorty about the caps. But, when someone uses it for the full post, I ignore it because I figure they don't know better.

I may go ahead and plant the Ajuga as I don't expect it will establish all at once. I may plant some of it soon. Then come fall, I may come back with planting a few bulbs in the Ajuga. It may be a bad idea from the get go. Will see. Can't have a success unless I give it a try. My plan is to plant the Ajuga in a mostly shady (under a small crabapple tree). I was thinking of scillia (sp) or something along that line? So I am thinking a spring bloomer as the bulb. I don't want the ugly foilage of a bulb to be on top of the Ajuga after it blooms. Hope my uppercase letters were not offensive, I'll downsize.............. sorry...........

I have a bed with ajuga that volunteered. There are daylilies, roses, irises, hydrangea, and hibiscus in the bed already.

Because the height of the other plants are taller than the ajuga, I'm going to let it continue to grow.

In another bed the ajuga is with pansies, Dahlberg daisies, and marigolds. It looks terrible because the marigold and pansies are similar in height. I pulled the ajuga yesterday.

Yeah, I think that is what she is trying to stay away from. So she needs something with maybe 8 to 10 inch height at the minimum. I think.

Your plan to plant the bulbs is a good one because that will give you time to decide which you want to plant with the ajuga, and you are right, the ajuga will not have grown so much it will be prohibitive to plant the bulbs. But, expect come spring that the ajuga will take off with a bang. So get your bulbs in.

Good luck Brenda, and don't worry about the caps. We all learn that one. :0) Jen

Your uppercase weren't offensive!! Since many of us on these forums are in learning mode, I thought you'd want to know.

:0) Like I said Shorty, we all learn that one, and she just did. That is how we learn.

Brenda, please don't worry about that caps, we all make some sorts of boo-boos now and again.

I'm pretty sure nearly all bulbs are gonna end up with some unattractive foliage that will have to be dealt with, and your Ajuga won't be tall enough to cover it up... however, here's a really cool website (from Cornell University) that offers nice combination options for bulbs. Maybe you could consider "triple-planting" the area? (Bulbs beneath for early-Spring colour, then your Ajuga AND something else on top). Just an idea, thought it might be worth a shot.

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/combos/FeaturedCombos/index.htm


And another Cornell University (Dept. of Horticulture) site that might be helpful for you:

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/combos/

Looking forward to hearing what you come up with -- and seeing pictures! =)

No big deal on the CAPS - I was in a bad habit of using them anyhow. Was getting lazy with my typing. I will check out the Cornell University website - THANKS. Anything all about combinations and I'm all about it. I do want to the keep the height down as the area I am planting is on a island in the pond and if there is a snake, I want to be able to see it when I'm messing around there.

I love good combo's and I'm all about "smarter not harder".

Speedie, what a cool idea. Triple plant it.

Brenda, I think if it were me, first I would decide which is my favorite bulb. i.e. tulips, hyacinth, daffs, etc. Then look for height etc. Which you would prefer. And, I love the suggestion Speedie came up with for something else.

Also, keep in mind the foliage you will want to do something with. Some folks just roll them down to the ground and put a toothpick or something in them. Maybe you could google for suggestions on that. Sure would be nice if you could just cut it off huh? But the bulb needs that.

I'm glad my suggestion was helpful, thanks! :)

Some people also tie up their foliage (like a pony tail) to keep it out of the way, and a bit more neatly organized. I've not done this myself.. kinda unsure about enough leaves photosynthesizing enough to feed the bulb, so I just leave my Iris foliage just flopping about. ;) (those are the only "bulbs/corms/tubers" I have any experience with).