Common name: Bugle, Carpet Bugle, Bugleweed
Family: Lamiaceae, Mint
Height x width: 6-9" x 2-4'
Growth rate: fast
Foliage: basal, oblong to obovate, shiny green except for colored leaved cultivars
Flowers: usually violet-blue but with some cultivars red, white or purple; spikes in late spring to early summer
Hardiness: zones 4-8
Soil: most except wet, tolerates poor soil
Light: shade, tolerates sun in the north if sufficient moisture is provided
Pests and Problems: crown rot (where too crowded or not divided) more in south than north
Landscape habit, uses: groundcover for shade and under trees or in poor soils, slopes
Other interest: native to Europe
Other culture: reptans is aggressive so don't place near lawns without proper edging to prevent spread, or in borders where spead is not desired without extensive dividing to keep in bounds; mats so thickly that weeds will not grow through
Propagation: division of plantlets or from stoloniferous stems, seed, cuttings, tissue culture
Species:
• genevensis (ge-ne-ven' siss)--Geneva Bugleweed, native to Europe, zones 5-9 (zone 4 often if protected), basal leaves coarsely toothed, usually blue but occasionally white or pink 2" flower spikes, more upright and less spreading than reptans and faster growth than pyramidalis
• pyramidalis (pir-a-mi-dal' iss)--Upright Bugleweed, native to Europe, zones 3-9, blue spikes in late spring 4-6", slightly toothed leaves, does not spread aggressively as reptans but does produce stolons in late summer in response to shorter daylengths
• reptans (rep-tans')--main species of cultivars, name means
"creeping" from spreading by stolons, native to Europe, violet flowers
of species in late spring, leaves and habit as described for species, leaves
ingested are a mild narcotic
The following are the most commonly found in U.S. commerce, with those
marked * the most popular.
| Cultivar | species | flowers | foliage | |
| 'Alba' | reptans | creamy white | green | |
| 'Atropurpurea' | reptans | bluish violet | bronze-purple | |
| *'Bronze Beauty' | reptans | bright blue | metallic bronze | |
| *'Burgundy Glow' | reptans | bluish violet | white, pink, rose, green | |
| 'Catlins Giant' | reptans | blue to 8" tall | bronze-green | |
| 'Crispa':Metallica Crispa' | ||||
| 'Gaiety' | reptans | lilac | bronze-purple | |
| 'Jungle Beauty' | reptans | bluish violet | dark purple, soft red edge | |
| 'Jungle Beauty Improved' | reptans | bluish violet | larger leaves, better purple | |
| 'Metallica Crispa' | pyramidalis | deep blue | metallic, brownish-red, crinkled | |
| 'Metallica Crispa Purpurea':'Metallica Crispa' | ||||
| 'Mini Crispa Red':'Metallica Crispa' | ||||
| 'Pink Beauty' | genevensis | light pink, 4-5" | green | |
| 'Pink Silver' | reptans | bluish violet | bronze tinted pink | |
| 'Purple Brocade' | reptans | bluish violet | purple, brocaded, slow | |
| 'Purpurea':'Atropurpurea' | ||||
| 'Royalty' | reptans | lilac | very dark purple, sport of 'Gaiety' | |
| *'Silver Beauty' | reptans | bluish violet | gray-green edged silver-white | |
| 'Silver Carpet' | reptans | bluish violet | silver-gray, green margins | |
| 'Variegata' | reptans | bluish violet | gray-green edged cream, dense | |
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