Bugle
Ajuga reptans
A low evergreen mat of glossy — often bronze or purple — leaves with short spikes of intense blue flowers in May that bees work heavily. It spreads by surface runners like a strawberry, which makes it quick to establish and easy to pull up, an unusually forgiving combination for a groundcover.
- Position
- Partial shade or Dappled shade or Full shade
- Water
- moderate demand
- Drainage
- Moisture-retentive, Tolerates wet ground
- Grows to
- 10–20 cm × 45–90 cm
- Hardiness
- H7
- Flowers
- May and June
- Difficulty
- Straightforward
August
Nothing to do
No sowing, planting, harvesting or pruning window falls in August.
Coming next month: plant, divide.
Bugle’s year
Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.
| Activity | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant | March. | April. | September. | |||||||||
| In flower | May. | June. | ||||||||||
| Divide | March. | April. | September. |
Timing that travels
The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.
Conditions it needs
- Light
- Partial shade, Dappled shade, Full shade
- Frost
- Very hardy
- Hardiness rating
- H7 (RHS)
- Grows best at
- 8–24 °C
- Soil
- Loam, Clay, Peat-free compost
- Soil pH
- 5.5–7.5
- Drainage
- Moisture-retentive, Tolerates wet ground
- Water needs
- moderate
- Drought
- poor tolerance
- Waterlogging
- good tolerance
- Heat
- moderate tolerance
- Wind and exposure
- good tolerance
Where these figures come from
- LightSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Ajuga — position
Checked 2026-08-13
- FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Ajuga — hardiness
Checked 2026-08-13
- Hardiness ratingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings
Checked 2026-08-13
- Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Ajuga — temperature
Checked 2026-08-13
- SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Ajuga — soil
Checked 2026-08-13
- Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Ajuga reptans — culture
Checked 2026-08-13
- DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Ajuga — soil
Checked 2026-08-13
- Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
Mildews and browns off in a dry summer.
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
On your soil
Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.
| Soil | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy clay | Prefers this soil | Heavy clay suits Bugle as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. It tolerates ground that stays wet, which most crops do not. Clay is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering. |
| Sandy | Works, with one condition | Bugle will crop on sandy, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure. |
| Chalky and alkaline | Works, with one condition | Bugle will crop on chalky and alkaline, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure. |
| Loam | Prefers this soil | Loam suits Bugle as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering. |
| Silty | Grows well here | Bugle grows perfectly well on silty without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose. |
| Peaty and acid | Prefers this soil | Peaty and acid suits Bugle as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. It tolerates ground that stays wet, which most crops do not. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering. |
| Shallow over rock | Works, with one condition | Bugle will crop on shallow over rock, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure. |
| Made ground and urban soil | Grows well here | Bugle grows perfectly well on made ground and urban soil without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose. |
Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.
Space and spacing
- Mature height
- 10–20 cm
- Mature spread
- 45–90 cm
- Rooting depth
- 15 cm
- Spacing
- 30–40 cm apart
Where these figures come from
- Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- SpacingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Ajuga — spacing
Checked 2026-08-13
Habit and ultimate size
What the plant becomes, rather than what it is when you buy it. The gap between the two is where most planting mistakes live.
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- In a container
- Good in a container long-term
Where these figures come from
- FoliageSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Ajuga reptans — foliage
Checked 2026-08-13
- In a containerHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Where and how you can grow it
Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.
| Method | Suitability | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Open ground | Well suitedsourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Traditional dug bed | Well suitedsourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Raised bed | Well suitedsourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Container | Well suitedsourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 |
Growing it
- PlantingGive it damp ground in shade. Ajuga is the counterpart to epimedium rather than a substitute for it: this one wants moisture and mildews badly on a dry bank, which is precisely where epimedium thrives. Choosing between them is a moisture question, not a light one.
- PropagationIt spreads by above-ground runners that root at each node, so a rooted plantlet detached with a trowel is an instant new plant. The same shallow rooting means an unwanted spread lifts away by hand, which makes it far less of a commitment than periwinkle.
Where this guidance comes from
- PlantingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Ajuga reptans — position
Checked 2026-08-13
- PropagationSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Ajuga reptans — culture
Checked 2026-08-13
Sources for this page
GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Royal Horticultural Society
Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.