Ajuga and mulch

I'm getting ready to plant some ajuga and lamium in a bed and was wondering if I mulch will the plants still spread? I want it to spread. Anybody have past experience with this?

Doug

Mulching should not affect that at all.I grow both and use a layer of finely shredded bark.Be careful not to mulch too close to the crowns.
Lynn

I haven't mulched around ajuga before but here is a pic where I mulched around lamium. This started out as a very small plant and has really grown. I have pinched this back several times.

Doug, I was just reworking an area this week where Lamium was planted and mulched over five years ago. It has now spread and completely covered the area, probably too much! LOL Sometimes I wonder how it can grow the way it does - runs right across the top of the mulch. Some people don't like it because it can get too happy in the garden but if it spreads too far and wide, I just 'control' it by snapping some off and planting it where I do want it to grow :) Ajuga, same thing, although it hasn't been as aggressive as the Lamium.

GayLynn, Your bed looks really pretty. Is that dark leafed plant a Maple or Sambucus?

Sorry Doug, can't help you. I happen to be the world's only person who couldn't get Ajuga or Chameleon plant to grow. Although, I just ripped out a ton of Pachysandra that had no trouble spreading through a very thick mulching.

Thanks Stormy... it's a Japanese Maple "bloodgood"

How on earth do you keep ajuga and lamium from overtaking everything? I'll admit they are beautiful, but those two plants just run amok here and can't be controlled. And Houttuynia cordata was the grand champion of them all. I wouldn't plant that stuff anywhere except in an expressway median with a double set of four lane highways to keep it in bounds.

It seems to help if you plant them in poor soil.It sounds strange I know,but in enriched soil or areas you feed regularly,they tend to run amok.
Lynn

I just yanked out a bunch of ajuga the other day... it was hiding all over the place. The lamium I have in the bed that I pictured above isn't too bad ... it doesn't root in the mulch and is easy to cut back.

Theywill spread if tou don't use too much mulch and cover them up.

This is the area I planted in. In front of the rock wall with the border of rocks in front. Hopefully it won't get too out of control. The soil has been amended with manure, peat and compost so it will be a soil rich in organics. That's why I chose the ajuga and lamium, I wanted something low growing to fill in the area without hiding my "homemade" rock wall!!!

Doug

Beautiful rockwork! With all the amendments you have in your planting bed I'm sure you will be very, very successful in filling it out with ajuga and lamium. Have you considered Phlox sublata, Creeping phlox? With that gorgeous stone wall as a backdrop it would make a stunning statement in the landsacpe. They bloom a carpet of deep pure pink in the spring. Another genus of beautiful low growing plants, and one with three seasons of interest, are the cultivars of Sedum cauticola. I have 'Lidakense' If my camera was working today (batteries) I would get a shot. I will try to later. They form a low mat, have frosty blue round leaves edged with pink and just now are totally covered in bright fuschia flowers. They knock your socks off and again, against your stone wall, would stop traffic. Both plants are hardy, easy care and best of all - non invasive.

http://www.daytonnursery.com/Encyclopedia/Perennials/Phlox%20subulata.htm
http://www.bigdipperfarm.com/cgi-bin/searchstuff.pl?Botanical=Sedum

Sedum cauticola 'Lidakense'

Snapple I really like that Sedum. I'm done buying plants for the year so I guess that's a Spring project! I do have about 6-7 Heucheras in there to, to give just a little height.

Doug

From 4" pots you can plant 2' apart. The bed will fill in about 2 years time. It also reseeds easily. If economy is an issue ( It is here!) and time is not, you could space them three feet on center. Heucheras are such a versatile plant. Have you seen Midnight Rose? In clumps it would make a great companion plant for the 'Lidakense'. Or you could run them in a serpentine band through a carpet of 'Lidakense' Oooooo!!


http://www.soonerplantfarm.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=456

They hold their colorful foliage right through the winter here. The leaves pop right back up as soon as any snow melts. Four seasons of interest!

I guess we are thinking along the same lines! I planted 6 Heuchera "Smoky Rose" I got from Bluestone. The following is a pic from their website.

Doug

Well I "said" was through ordering plants but I just may order some of that sedum so I can get it in the ground this fall!!!

Doug

Snapple, thanks for posting the Sedum cauticola 'Lidakense'. I have that growing in one of my beds and didn't know what it was. (came with the house) I love it. I have it growing in full sun. Will it grow in the shade also? I like the idea of planting it with midnight rose heuchera, I have that also but in the shade.
Doug, your rock work is fantastic! That area should really nice filled in with ajuga and lamium. I haven't heard of the heuchera 'smoky rose' before... will have to check it out, looks pretty.

It's not one of the cultivars recommended for shade,like Angelina,but why not try some starts off of your plants in the shade and see what happens?
Lynn

Now why didn't I think of that Lynn!? Duh! Thanks, I'm going to give it a try!

I hope it works for you.Around here most of them don't seem to care where they are planted.
Lynn

My ajuga has spread right over mulch. It puts out very thick runners and the roots seem to get through the mulch I've used. I use a finely shredded eucalyptus mulch.