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I have this ground cover on the north rock garden in the shade, and I would like to know what it is:



Any guesses? Thanks!

Your picture is a bit washed out and I'm really not sure, but as a guess, perhaps ajuga/ bugleweed/ carpet bugle.

I don't think that's it rainbow. They look like they have triangular leaves not rounded like ajuga. I think they are Lamium.

...heh. Didn't realize lamium = dead nettle.... And now I'm not sure because I'm not finding a purple tri-color cultivar.

I think you're right. I said it was a guess... I usually do try to label my degree of certainty on ID's ..

Lamiastrum?

I think you got it! Was initially thinking "lamia" but couldn't get a search result, so settled on "lamium" as what I must be misremembering.

(sorry rainbowgardener, didn't mean to come across like that. )

no apology... you didn't come across like anything except giving the correct information, which I appreciate.

I concur with "Lamiastrum." And thanks to all (especially Purple!), as I feel that sometimes it takes a "close" guess in order to narrow the field towards the goal!

Well I'm usually wrong, but glad to try to help! Isn't this stuff a horrible weed?

The newer ones aren't bad. I've had silver beacon and spread but wasn't invasive.

I like the look of it, but the things I've read have always stopped me from bringing any home. Thanks for your endorsement!

purpleinopp wrote:Isn't this stuff a horrible weed?

Hmmm.. I didn't even know it was a weed! It has been a successful groundcover on the rock garden under the crabapple tree on the north side of our property since we bought the place. It has not seemed to spread beyond the confines of its boundaries, although it sends shoots onto the sidewalk that have to be trimmed back. I have so many other invasive plants on the property that I have been fighting left and right that this one has seemed well behaved by comparison!

See, some people's ideas of "terribly invasive" are way different from others'. Although that's what named cultivars are for, they're usually much more desirable because of their much more inhibited growth than the wild thing parent. Then there's also the context in which different people have had it, different soil types, climates, weather, sun exposures.

As far as ground covers go, this looks like a decent one, pretty, not too tall, thick enough to thwart other plants, looks soft to walk through. The primary feature I've always read is that it will grow under trees when they've shaded the grass to death, even if very dry, a fairly rare virtue.

I planted some under a fir tree last year, dry and lots of root competition, but they have thrived.