Chocolate Chip Ajuga - Hits and Misses and Maybes - April 2024

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The past few years have been a love story between me, the gardener and Ajuga 'Chocolate Chips', the groundcover.  I've bought it a few different sizes (quarts and plugs) and have scattered them around the front and back of our yard.  Some have really thrived.  Some have died totally.  And others...well...they're still TBD.  This time in early Spring is when these Ajugas take on a different form - with curled-up, darker foliage that make them standout a bit.  Soon...they'll be filled with blue/purple flowers.   Here's a look at some of those - starting with some less-than-one-year-old plugs.  These went in the bed in late May in our backyard, sort-of in-front-of the Fanal Astilbes.  The six plugs are not stretching out into six plants.  Soon...maybe this year, they'll connect to each other:

Ajuga Chocolate Chip New Spring Growth in Perennial Garden - Zone 6a

Next up, is a pair of plugs that went in the backyard in late Fall.  These are planted in front of the Baby Blue Spruce Tree.  They, well...survived the winter.  Are they alive, still?  I think so.   The one on the left is putting on new growth.  The other one?  Not sure yet.  This one falls into the 'maybe' category:

Ajuga Chocolate Chip plugs in Perennial Garden - Zone 6a

And last up is a patch of Ajuga that went in a few years back around the tree swing tree bed.  

Ajuga Chocolate Chip New Spring Growth in Perennial Garden - Zone 6a

This 'living mulch' is something that I'm going to keep focusing on - and Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' is the groundcover that I've had the MOST success with (so far).  It seems that the two that work best for me are:

Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip'

Angelina Sedum

There are some early positive signs with another sedum (variegated), but the jury is still out.  

Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

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