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Bugleweed

Ajuga pyramidalis (ah-JOO-gah peer-ah-mid-AH-liss)

Family: Lamiaceae Non-native Groundcover (<1 ft)

Pyramidal bugle is a perennial plant from the mint family (Lamiaceae) native to Europe. In Latin Ajuga means as "without yoke and reptans means "creeping", which refers to the plant's spreading runners. This plant grows 2 to 8 inches tall and will spread up to 1 foot. Plant in fertile moist well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade. Propagate it by removing daughter plants or by crown division. The stems are rooted shallowly in the first year of growth and are easily removed but if left to grow it can spread into surrounding planting beds and lawns and become quite dense and difficult to move. This plant is resistant to browsing by deer and rabbits and can be planted near black walnut trees. It is ground cover with year-round interest that forms clumps by spreading from short rhizomes. The pale blue-violet, spiked inflorescence blooms May to June. The flowers may be mowed or weed-whacked off when blooms are finished to help enhance the foliage appearance. Mass plant it in a border front, foundation plant, entryway, container, or use it as an edging or in a rock garden. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Crown rot in very wet conditions or dieback under prolonged extremely dry conditions. It slowly invades other planting sites through its rooting runners.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 59 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 5 - Groundcover (<1 ft)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Often confused with Ajuga reptans Lamium galeobdolon
Native alternatives Ampelaster carolinianus Asarum canadense Clematis viorna Salvia lyrata

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Ground Cover; Herbaceous Perennial; Perennial
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 2 in. - 0 ft. 8 in. | Width: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
5 - Groundcover (<1 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Dense; Prostrate; Spreading
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Semi-evergreen
Leaf color
Green; Purple/Lavender
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Ovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Soft
Leaf size
3-6 inches long
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Leaves are 4-inch leaves, deep green, elliptic-ovate, basal rosette and opposite on stem and densely haired.
Flower color
Blue; Purple/Lavender
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Spike
Flower shape
Lipped; Tubular
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Part of the flower is a zygomorphic corolla. Has spike-like inflorescence with dense axillary whorls that appear late spring through early summer.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Green
Fruit type
Nut
Fruit detail
4 one-seeded nutlets
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Hairy square stems
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Europe
Wildlife value
Nectar from flowers attract bees.
Attracts
Bees; Pollinators
Food & Medicine
Fruit type
Nut
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Container; Meadow; Woodland
Landscape theme
Pollinator Garden; Rock Garden; Shade Garden
Design feature
Border; Foundation Planting; Mass Planting
Garden tags
#purple flowers #hardy #black walnut toxicity tolerant #rabbit resistant #nectar plant early summer #pollinator plant #flowers late spring #flowers early summer #rock garden #nectar plant #lawn alternative #border front #deer resistant #edging #nectar plant late spring #year-round interest #partial shade tolerant #bee friendly #aggressive #perennial #wildlife friendly #weedy
Problems & Resistance
Problems
Weedy
Resistant to
Black Walnut; Deer; Heat; Poor Soil; Rabbits
Particularly resistant to
this plant is resistant to damage by deer, rabbit, black walnut
Propagation
Division; Root Cutting

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.