Bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip'
Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' · Lamiaceae
A miniature bugleweed with narrow, chocolate-tinted leaves that knit into a tight, flat mat, covered in short blue spikes in spring.
- Size
- 3 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Part sun to shade
- Flowers
- Early May to late May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip'
The planner designed this bed around bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' × 8, blue
- 2 Leadwort × 8, blue
- 3 Northern sea oats × 5, tan
- 4 Foxglove × 3, purple
- 5 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 False Solomon's seal × 3, white
- 7 Winter cyclamen × 12, pink
- 8 Yellow trout lily × 12, yellow
Why this plant
- Nothing here is unique to it. Its leaf, flower shape and colour are all on the plan already. Its case rests on where it stands and when it performs.
Why here
- Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
- 8 plants in 2 groups (5 and 3). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From early May to late May.
- Part of the bed's peak. With yellow trout lily in early May: 2 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a cottage garden: 28 of the 28 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Winter cyclamen is the first into flower, in early February, and leadwort the last to finish, in early October. Cool colours (blue, purple and pink) with yellow as the warm note, and tan and white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Foxglove is highly poisonous to people, dogs, cats and horses. Northern sea oats spreads aggressively.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' goes in a border
At 3 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is ground-hugging (up to 6 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
The best-behaved bugleweed: small in leaf and slow enough to grow between stepping stones without swamping its neighbours. The dark mat sets off gold leaves and small spring bulbs.
- Between stepping stones
- Edging a shady path
- Groundcover under shrubs
What to plant with bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Sedge 'Evergold': its variegated leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (12 in) to stand behind it.
- Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears': its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; a low mound at the foot of its spires; tall enough (8 in) to stand behind it.
- Japanese painted fern: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (18 in) to stand behind it.
Questions about bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip'
Does bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' need sun or shade?
Bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun), part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to late May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Early May to early June |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 6 | Late April to late May |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to mid May |
| Zone 8 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 9 | Early April to early May |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' be planted?
12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 in (8 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' plants do I need?
At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 38 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used eight in two groups.
Is bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip'?
Bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Robin's plantain 'Lynnhaven Carpet': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; lavender, not blue, medium leaves, not fine.
- Creeping woodland phlox: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 5 in taller, medium leaves, not fine.
- Woodland stonecrop: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 4 in narrower, white, not blue.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Will bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by runners that root as they go and can creep into a lawn. Edge it once a year.
What flowers after bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip'?
Bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' is over by late May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall.
- Astilbe: from late June to mid July, 24 in tall.
- Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips': from late June to late August, 8 in tall.
What does bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' look like in winter?
Bugleweed 'Chocolate Chip' holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
More Ajuga
- Bugleweed Ajuga reptans
- Bugleweed 'Black Scallop' Ajuga reptans 'Black Scallop'
- Bugleweed 'Burgundy Glow' Ajuga reptans 'Burgundy Glow'
- Bugleweed 'Catlin's Giant' Ajuga reptans 'Catlin's Giant'
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Plants with blue flowers
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
In flower in: May
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial (groundcover)
- Size
- 3 in (8 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Ground-hugging (up to 6 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early May to late May; upright spires; blue
- Leaves
- Fine texture, semi-evergreen; bronze, dark green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Part sun, part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Lamiaceae
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.