Is Bugleweed deer resistant?
Ajuga reptans
About Bugleweed
Fast, dense, and deer ignore it, which makes it one of the few reliable groundcovers for shade under browsing pressure. The catch is in the word fast. Ajuga spreads by runners and does not respect a bed edge, so it will move into a lawn and is difficult to get back out once it does. Plant it where a hard edge or a path contains it, or where you genuinely want the whole area covered. The other weakness is crown rot in hot humid weather, which can take out patches of an established planting overnight. Air movement helps and heavy mulch does not. Bronze and variegated cultivars are less vigorous than the plain green, which in this case is a feature.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 5.5 to 7.5
- Drainage
- Average garden soil
- Water
- Moderate
- Fertility
- Low
- Spacing
- 10 to 14 in apart
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Maintenance
- Low
Tolerances and uses
- Drought
- Moderate
- Salt
- Low
- Pollinators
- Moderate
- Evergreen
- Containers
- Erosion control
What to plant it with
Keep apart from
- Lungwort
Ajuga runs; lungwort does not. The groundcover wins and you lose the lungwort.
Similar to Bugleweed
Other groundcovers with the same deer rating.
- Allegheny SpurgePachysandra procumbensZones 5–9Rarely damaged
- BarrenwortEpimedium sp.Zones 4–8, genus rangeRarely damaged
- BearberryArctostaphylos uva-ursiZones 3–7Rarely damaged
- Bishop's WeedAegopodium podagrariaZones 3–10Rarely damaged
- Lily of the ValleyConvallaria majalisZones 3–7Rarely damaged
- PachysandraPachysandra terminalisZones 4–9Rarely damaged
Where Bugleweed grows
Hardy across most of these 51 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texas
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
Browse from here
Every list Bugleweed belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Bugleweed
- Is Bugleweed deer resistant?
- Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) is rated Rarely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Deer almost always leave this alone.
- What hardiness zones does Bugleweed grow in?
- Bugleweed is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 10. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Bugleweed grow in shade?
- Yes. Bugleweed tolerates full shade to part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
- How big does Bugleweed get?
- Mature height is roughly 6–12 in. Growth rate is fast.
- When does Bugleweed bloom?
- Bugleweed flowers from April–June.