Chocolate Chip Bugleweed

Chocolate Chip Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans 'Chocolate Chip') is the miniature form of a well known groundcover, and the size is the point. It sits about 10cm high and spreads to roughly 45cm, with narrow bronze to chocolate leaves and short spikes of deep blue flowers in spring. Planted 25cm apart it knits into a low, even carpet that suppresses weeds without swamping the plants around it.

Why you'll love it

• Low enough to plant past, not through. At 10cm it edges a path or a bed without spilling over the paving and needing constant clipping.
• Colour from the leaf. The bronze foliage holds all year and deepens in cold weather, so the bed reads as planted even out of flower.
• Blue spring flowers for bees. Short violet blue spikes stand above the mat for weeks and are worked hard by bees and butterflies.
• It copes with difficult ground. Poor soil, damp soil and frost all sit within its tolerance, which is a rare combination in a groundcover.

Where it works best

Groundcover and mass planting. Plant 25cm apart for a dense carpet. At that spacing the runners close the gaps within two growing seasons, and weeds struggle to get a start.

Borders and edging. A single row at 25cm along a path gives a soft, low finish that does not need cutting back off the pavers every few weeks.

Rockeries, slopes and retaining walls. The creeping habit binds loose soil on a bank, and it grows in the shallow pockets of a rockery or spills over a low wall.

Growing chocolate chip bugleweed in Australia

Position and climate. Part shade gives the best leaf colour and healthiest growth. It takes morning sun happily, and full sun only where summers are mild and the soil stays moist. This is a plant for warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens: frost hardy, and not a candidate for tropical humidity.

Soil. Not fussy. It tolerates poor soil and ground that stays damp, which makes it useful under a downpipe or along the low edge of a bed. Air movement matters more than soil quality, because a still crowded position invites crown rot.

Water and feed. Water regularly through the first summer while the runners spread, then it asks for little beyond a soak in a long dry spell. A light dressing of complete fertiliser in early spring keeps the leaf colour strong.

Pruning. Shear the spent flower spikes off after the spring display to tidy the mat and encourage fresh growth. Lift and replant any thin patches in autumn.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes as tube stock and as 140mm plants in packs of ten. Tubes are the value option: each is a small rooted plant that spreads to about 45cm, so roughly sixteen cover a square metre at 25cm spacing. The 140mm packs give a visible result in the first season.

Small plants travel well, though a few outer leaves may mark in transit. Plant into weed free, mulched ground and water daily for the first fortnight. Expect the runners to start moving within three to four weeks, and a closed carpet by the second spring. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• The best groundcovers for shaded beds
• Compare the groundcover range
• Choosing edging plants
• Plants for rockeries and slopes

Common questions

How many plants do I need per square metre?

About sixteen at 25cm spacing. You can stretch to 30cm apart when covering a large area, provided you can wait an extra season for the carpet to close.

Will it take foot traffic?

Light and occasional only, such as stepping between pavers. It is not a lawn substitute and will not recover from a regular walking route or from children playing on it.

Is it safe around pets?

The toxicity of ajuga to cats and dogs is not well documented, so we do not list it as pet friendly. Treat it as a plant to keep pets from grazing on, as you would most ornamentals.