Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip'

Evergreen in mild climates, and very quick to spread

Simply the best Ajuga for midnight dark foliage, rich blue blooms, and great adaptability to varying soils and moisture levels, 'Chocolate Chip' is a stunning groundcover for the garden floor or container. Its foliage is oversized, its habit very low and mat-forming, and its maintenance low.

'Chocolate Chip' offers large, scallop-shaped leaves of such a deep purple that they gleam black even in the sun. They cover ground quickly, forming a weed-choking mat that replaces artificial mulches and adds dramatic color to the sunny to partly shaded garden. If planted about a foot apart, 'Chocolate Chip' plants fill in in no time; however, they also spread up to about 3 feet wide, so may be spaced farther apart for more gradual coverage.

The foliage -- evergreen in mild and warm climates -- is only one of 'Chocolate Chip's' merits. From late spring into early summer, this plant cloaks itself in bright blue blooms crowded along short spikes. Very showy, the blossoms offset the dark foliage nicely.

'Chocolate Chip' achieves its darkest leaf color in full sun, making it a superb choice for mixed container plantings, where it will trail over the sides of a planter. 'Chocolate Chip' is the Ajuga your garden and containers deserve.