Does anyone know what this is..

Hi you all. I have this purple plant growing on my little hill and I do not know if it is a weed or a plant.. It has been there for three years and has not done much..

Maybe an Ajuga? Except that stuff usually spreads like crazy...

I think it is ajuga. I have some at my place and it looks like that. I have not had any problem with it spreading.

Does it flower?

I have not seen it flower but it is not spreading either.. It is just there..

beets

:)

Looks like Ajuga Carpet Bugleweed to me. It does spread but not always very quickly. It can make a nice ground cover and comes in several different colors the purple is pretty common. I have two varieties and they are both pretty.

It looks like Ajuga to me, too. I think it blooms in the early or mid spring time frame, with blue/dark blue flowers on short upright stalks. I have it in in the shady areas of my yard.

Check out the photos here:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/search.php?q=ajuga&Search=Search+PlantFiles

Bugle, Bugleweed, Carpet Bugle
Ajuga reptans 'Black Scallop'

That has to be what it is... I have not seen it bloom and it is pitiful looking.... I will now have to see what I need to do to help the poor little babies..

Thanks you all..

I don't know about 'Black Scallop', but there are a lot of fancy new Ajuga cultivars, but not all flower much. So yours may not flower much. The original Ajuga reptans flowers very sweetly.

I'm surprised yours hasn't filled in more -- it is usually an effective ground cover.

Happy I am not sure if it has moved at all... It looks so out of place. I will watch it a little more closely this year.

Do you have other Ajuga? I can bring some samples to the swap so you can compare it, if you like. I killed off Black Scallop though.

That is all I have. It was on the hill when I moved it..

Do you want me to clip you off a piece of dig you one up?

Jenn: If you had extra, I'd love it -- but don't you want to see if you can get yours to fill in?

We are going to put the stawberrys back there... It will not hurt to bring you one. Now my question is do I cut some of it off or do I dig it up? Help me so I do not kill it.. lol

According to the plant files it says it seeds.. I have not seen this yet!

This message was edited Jan 30, 2008 2:26 PM

If you got a little bit of root, I'd have an easier time of rooting it . . . I'd say I could just root it, but since I killed off my last Black Scallop, I can't make those rash assumptions! I'll bring you a couple other varieties in exchange!

Happy

I will dig you up one of the whole plants! :) There are about 8 of them.. Missing one will not make the spot look funny.

I see a tree trunk... and you mentioned strawberries... how sunny is your little hill?

It is not Sunny Sunny.... Not like the side where the side bed is. That is not a tree but the bush will the yellow flowers on it.. I do not know the names..

You might compare notes with Happy... she can advise you on just how "sunny sunny" strawberries need it to be in order to bear fruit. Most of my yard is Sunny Sunny Sunny, and I know they like that!

I can put them on the other side. When you said that it made me think. I think I know where I can place them.. Now the question is what to do with that hill!

I haven't harvested a strawberry yet (just started last year), but I think that may be due to the bird & chipmonks, rather than my shade. Not sure yet.

Some years ago I grew them successfully in a partly sunny area.

Oh Jen, Boy is that a loaded question "Now the question is what to do with that hill!" LOL I can see endless possibilities. Start first with what kind of look do you want for your hill. Do you like formal, cottage garden, or woodland? Then how steep is the hill and what type of sun does it get? What is already growing on the hill and do you want to keep it? Would you want terraces or paths on your hill? Once you have answered those kind of questions the plant world is your limit.
Happy, I'll go out and pyre a piece out of my frozen ground for you. I can't bring very much because mine hasn't spread very far either and I've had it for years. I think it's the location. The funny part is that I now have a second patch that volunteered to grow right in the middle of my lawn that is just taking off like crazy.

It is a little hill... There are steps leading to my backyard beside it. It is right behind the carport. It gets light but also shade. There is 1 full bush (the one with yellow flowers) and a poor little one that my husband put car parts on, mowed, and broke but has not died yet besides it. There are 5 or 6 of the little purple plant, one tulip (the tulip grows in the middle of the hill and I have no clue how it got there) and grass.

I don't have a style yet.. I just like seeing something I babied grow, if that makes sense... The little hill is not big enough for a path or anything...

It is going to take me forever to remember all the names of the plants. LOL

HollyAnn: Thank you! But I already have a number of different types of ajuga (tons of the plain old-fashioned green, which makes a wonderful ground cover, and burgundy glow -- http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/58791/ -- , and chocolate chip -- http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/52055/ ). So don't feel you need to go digging in the cold for me! If you'd like me to bring any of those 3 to you, I'd be delighted to! I have plenty -- just let me know.

Happy, I went out with my little hand shovel HAH who was I kidding. LOL I have a little burgundy glow but could use another piece or two. Mine is a dark Burgundy purple color with pretty little purple flowers. Here is a pathetic picture of a few frozen plants maybe you can tell what they are. I'm thinking maybe Braunherz?

Jenn, Little hills like that can be very pretty and fun to plant. I'm much like that I pick out plants I like and then try to figure out where I can put it. I know that's not the way a good garden designer works. Also I was given many plants so alot of what I have is pretty common. I'm thinking that there is a good chance that your yellow flowered bush is probably a Forsythia it's pretty common in our area. Even though it is common I really love seeing the bright yellow flowers in the spring and if you go out and cut a few branches and put them in water they will bloom for you. Really gives a lift to the winter doldrums. Holly

That is the plant and they are tough! My husband has done everything he can to the one and it is still alive!

It is very pretty. It makes you smile when you see it..

HollyAnn: I love it! I'll bring you some burgundy glow for sure, assuming it isn't dormant then -- it is very vigorous. Jenn, I'll bring you some too. (Anyone else want some? I usually have lots, but haven't checked in a while.)

This message was edited Jan 31, 2008 12:47 PM

ppffllltt forsythia~~ LOL can I be the bad girl once?
I agree pretty and uplifting for two weeks of the year, then pretty boring for 50. I am plagued, just like my mother, by a whole row of that in a place that has to stay within a three foot width or so, so we trim the heck out of them every year, and no you can't kill them. Many become huge tangled masses of branches. I recommend you trim it right after blooms fall off, take out any big fat stems close to the ground. It'll grow new long graceful stems.

And if you don't want a large bush where it is, it's incredibly easy to root the stems by air layering, so you can make your own small new one.
My dream homestead will have a forsythia, but just one, out away by itself ! My mom always forces a few stems, so do I. Could do it anytime now I think!

This message was edited Jan 31, 2008 7:40 PM

I keep it pretty small... I do not want more then I have, but maybe I will try to force a few blooms..

Yes Sally, I hate those clipped forsythia hedges, too. My neighbor has one and I really can't say anything good about it. But I love seeing those small thin arching branches laden with bright yellow flowers especially in wooded areas that have not been overgrown with just a scattering of bushes.

Jenn - I think it's Lyre leaved sage.

gotta go - late for doc's appoint....

This message was edited Feb 1, 2008 10:46 AM

Now that's interesting. I traded for some of that (the purple volcano as I recall) 2 years ago and promptly killed it, so I don't know what it should look like.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/104456/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/81874/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/64088/ (no pictures)
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1003/ (this is the plain green version -- the leaves are a different shape.)

they are related- I'll try to find you a pic of my S lyrata
nope don't have one handy

Oh, now we're thinking Jenn's plant might be Salvia? I think it looks more like Ajuga...

I thought I had a photo of S. lyrata 'Purple Knockout' seedlings somewhere, but I sure don't seem to be able to put my finger on it presently.

I swam out and got this pic of my salvia lyrata today, barely surviving. It hasn't beeen a great performer. Largest leaves are maybe three inches long
My ajuga is an old variety and is so puny today I didn't even take a pic. Its leaves are only an inch. I bet newer ones have bigger leaves.

I remember an ID thread about an ajuga vs s lyrata= I believe they are in the same family. I don't know if I could really ID one or the other in winter, except that the bigger the leaves, the more I would lean to the Salvia side. If it makes runners this spring , I say Ajuga. If no runners and blooms on a spike later in summer, Salvia.
Aren't you sorry you asked now?

This message was edited Feb 1, 2008 4:42 PM

here it is in fall. S lyrata montrose ruby

Okay.. I am digging one of them up and taking it to Jill's. Hopefully we will know one day.

thank you

Hahaha... I didn't even realize I'd uploaded that photo while digging around for a Salvia pic!

Sally, no, not sorry I asked at all. I just learned something! To me, the ajuga and salvia lyrata look quite distiinct, but maybe that's more because of the spreading habit of the ajuga, or because of the particular varieties that I have. I'd be more surprised if Ajuga hadn't flowered noticibly than S. lyrata (the blooms on 'Purple Knockout' aren't exactly conspicuous, and I'd probably overlook them altogether at a distance), so maybe those plants are indeed Salvia.

Hey, Sally, Jenn... are you paying attention to the Banana thread? We're ordering plants...