Ajuga, Bugle, Bugleweed, Carpet Bugle 'Bronze Beauty'

On Dec 3, 2018, Susan_Hartwig from Lancaster, NY wrote:

I planted this in the parkway/hellstrip between the street and the sidewalk because I dislike mowing the narrow strip. It has formed a nice weed free, low growing clump that slightly hangs over the curb a bit. I honestly wish it would spread a little faster in that area, although it does spread fairly quickly. I planted it there, knowing it would be contained by the concrete. I would not plant this in my beds, because it will find it's way into your lawn and anywhere else it has access to, as we found out the hard way at our cottage. Although, we don't mind it out there, and it does make a beautiful blue carpet in spring. Great dense groundcover for contained garden spaces.

On Jun 17, 2011, ogon from Paradise, CA (Zone 9a) wrote:

Ajuga makes a very nice groundcover. It quickly forms a dense mat and the rizomes can be easily guided to travel in the direction you want. If it spreads to where you don't want it, the roots are fairly shallow so it's easy to pop up from the ground. I have it planted as a "green mulch" beneath and between my hostas, and the bronze color contrasts nicely with the blue and chartreaus colors especially. It's evergreen, so the area continues to look nice when the hostas are hiding for winter, but it still allows them to pop back up in the spring. The pretty blue flower spikes are an added bonus!

On Aug 18, 2010, cmgah from Arlington, MA wrote:

EXTREMELY aggressive, to the point of chocking out other plants near it. I would NEVER use it again, I have spent countless hours digging up bushels of rhizome runners...they look like snakes! And it keeps coming back...it seems to be strangling my roses and now is invading the lawn. I tried no water (a suggestion I found online) in that bed for a few weeks, it didn't help...just stressed my other plants. All this from a tiny $3 plant; it has become the bane of my garden...don't fall for it, leave it at the nursery.

On Aug 31, 2009, green76thumb from Radford, VA (Zone 7a) wrote:

I've fallen in love with this little plant that I at first hated. It didn't work well in my terrarium (poor lighting). If memory serves me right, I tried to kill it and then took pity on it and relocated it.
I must have planted it in the right spot, because it formed a nice, tight 'living mulch' in the shady bed where it now grows. How wonderful to have a bed that I don't need to keep replenishing with messy woodchip mulch!
I think the color (burgundy & green) and the crinkly texture of the leaves are just beautiful! I'm not too fond of the flower color with the foliage color (to me they don't match), but the foliage alone is great!
Very easy to transplant too!

On May 28, 2008, KaylyRed from Watertown, WI (Zone 5a) wrote:

This is a pretty, carefree ground cover that enjoys a prominent spot in my garden. It forms a nice dense mat of foliage that most weeds will not penetrate. Excessive spreading or invasiveness has not been a problem for me; ajuga has not tried to "jump" the rock edging on my garden.

My only complaint about ajuga is that it looks mushy, dead and unattractive until later in the spring. Has been slow to wake up for me.

On Sep 3, 2007, zak1962 from Pittsburgh, PA wrote:

New to gardening last spring (2006) I planted Ajuga in a 100 ft. long area between the street and my sidewalk along the side of my house. I have had quite a different experience with it than listed above.

First of all, I do allow the soil to dry out on occassion and it has flourished. My Ajuga is still flowering into September as I trim back the spent stalks about once every couple of weeks.

I recently began removing some of the mulch I laid around the plants initially to allow the plant access to the soil for rooting purposes. The mulch I used was pretty 'chunky' and in some cases the run off plants were unable to reach the soil and root. The parent plant apparently shuts them down once they are formed. I was constantly removing dead run offs.
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I plan on mowing the area down in late fall. This past spring many of my plants struggled to get out from under the rather dense, crusty remains of last years growth and several of them died. I think the fact that I live on a corner city lot that experiences a lot of wind had something tio do with this. The Ajuga I planted a small patch in front of my house didn't have the same problems.

On Oct 18, 2004, lmelling from Ithaca, NY (Zone 5b) wrote:

I have this cultivar mixed with the burgundy cultivar in my back garden. I've found it to be a (welcomed) aggressive little addition as it helps keep weeds down. The blue flowers in mid May are a welcome addition to the spring flowers and the whole plant dies back down to the leaves once the other flowers take over.

I find it holds up well to foot traffic when I have to go through the garden to weed. It transplants well and is a very useful plant. I have this in an area that is moist to dry, depending on the year - it lives on equally well in either situation.