groundcover
Bugleweed 'Bronze Beauty'
Ajuga reptans 'Bronze Beauty'
Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.
Bugleweed 'Bronze Beauty' is a fast-growing evergreen groundcover hardy in zones 3–9. It grows 3–6 in tall and 1–2 ft wide, so plant it 1 ft apart. Give it part sun to shade and average water. It flowers blue in April to May. In a FloraVista list it usually plays the edge role: a low plant that finishes the front edge. Deer usually leave it alone, and it is toxic to dogs and cats. Our rules leave it out of lists in the Desert Southwest, where summer heat, humidity or mild winters hold it back even inside its zone range.
Invasive warning: listed as invasive, noxious or banned in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and District of Columbia. FloraVista never puts it on a list for a yard in those states. Check your state's list before planting.
Facts from our plant table
- Botanical name
- Ajuga reptans 'Bronze Beauty'
- Plant type
- Groundcover, evergreen
- Hardiness zones
- 3 to 9
- Sun
- Part sun (4–6 hours); Part shade (2–4 hours); Shade (under 2 hours)
- Water
- Medium
- Soil
- Well-drained soil; crowns rot in waterlogged ground.
- Mature size
- 3–6 in tall × 1–2 ft wide
- Spacing
- 1 ft apart (centre to centre)
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Bloom
- Apr–May · blue
- Roles in a bed
- Edge
- Styles
- classic, cottage, modern
- Deer resistance
- High: deer rarely eat it
- Pets
- Toxic to dogs and cats. No ASPCA entry found for Ajuga; marked toxic until a reviewer confirms.
- Native to
- Not native to the US (or a garden hybrid)
- Pot size and price
- 4-inch pot, typically $4–$7 (easy to find)
- Plant in
- Spring or Fall
- First-year watering
- Water deeply once or twice a week through the first summer, more in heat; keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy. Established plants need water only in dry spells.
- Pruning
- Mow or shear off spent flower spikes; edge runners that escape the bed.
Sources: Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder; state extension service fact sheets; ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list; Rutgers NJAES deer resistance ratings; state extension service; Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States; state noxious weed and invasive plant lists; US garden-centre and home-improvement retail listings (general knowledge, 2026 estimate). Not yet reviewed by a horticulturist.
Good companions
The plants our list engine most often puts in the same bed as Bugleweed 'Bronze Beauty', across the sun, zone, pet, deer and style combinations it fits.
- Lenten roseHelleborus × hybridusperennial · zones 4–9
- Bleeding heartLamprocapnos spectabilisperennial · zones 3–9
- Japanese painted fern 'Pictum'Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum'fern · zones 4–8
- Autumn fernDryopteris erythrosorafern · zones 5–9
- Japanese sedge 'Evergold'Carex oshimensis 'Evergold'ornamental grass · zones 5–9
- Siberian bugloss 'Jack Frost'Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost'perennial · zones 3–8
If you can't find it
Substitutes our engine offers for Bugleweed 'Bronze Beauty': same role in the bed, passing the same rules.
- Spotted dead nettle 'Beacon Silver'Lamium maculatum 'Beacon Silver'zones 3–8 · flagged toxic to pets
- Japanese pachysandraPachysandra terminaliszones 4–8 · flagged toxic to pets
- Dwarf mondo grass 'Nana'Ophiopogon japonicus 'Nana'zones 7–10 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Canadian wild gingerAsarum canadensezones 3–8 · flagged toxic to pets
How this page was made
This page was generated from this plant's record in FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules. The companions and substitutes come from the lists our rules engine composes. No named expert has reviewed this page.
Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.
Sources
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
- Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
- State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
- Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants