Just thought I'd share something I discovered about a couple of the Ajuga varieties that seem to be commonly available.

I really like the color of Mahogany, and since common planting info says "shade to full sun", I bought about 60 in flats. I planted some in full sun (sun from 9:30 to 3:00), some in mostly shade under the canopies of a redwood and a Japanese Black Pine (morning sun for an hour or two), and some in morning sun (4 hours of morning sun). All are planted in heavy clay, with berms around the holes of the ones planted on any slopes to assist with deep watering.

First, I have found that they need to be watered quite regularly, and are not as "water-wise" as the label said they were. They seem nowhere near as drought-tolerant as the books say they are, even those that are planted in the shade.

During weather with temps between 90-100, the ones in 4-hour morning sun are quite happy with every-other-day watering, have a rich look of contrasting dark green and dark purple, and are quite shiny.

The ones in shade can get by on every other day watering, but prefer light daily watering. Their color is more blended with less of a contrast between the green and purple.

The ones in the full sun need to be watered well at LEAST once a day, preferrably twice, but even then they seem to be limping along, and definitely not thriving. Their green seems to have a bit more of a yellow tint, and have more of flat luster.

Against the advice of the nursery near me, about 45 days after planting the Mahogany, I planted 9 Burgundy Glow in a patch next to some of the Mahogany in full sun. Not only was I told that I would be taking a big chance planting in temps in the hi-90s, I was also told hey are more delicate and would not tolerate full sun, even if it wasn't that hot.

Lo and behold, none of that was true. These Burgundy are kicking butt, even when the temps go into the 100s. Much info on these say they spread significantly slower than the Mahogany, but my findings indicate that they spread much faster than even the happiest Mahogany ones I have planted.

Now, the Burgudy Glow were initially a bit larger than the Mahogany, and came in their own containers instead of in flats. But, they were planted later, in much hotter weather than the Mahogany. Even if I consider that they must have been a bit more mature, they don't wilt in the least in the heat and sun, whereas the Mahogany under the exact same conditions, right next to the Burgundy, seem to melt into the ground if I don't water them twice a day, and they still don't look happy, even with all the watering.

Anyone else have this experience?

I planted the Mahogany in early summer, and the Burgundy more mid-summer, and was really hoping to be able to have a patch of each Mahogany and Burgundy right next to each other in that full sun area. Is it possible that the Mahogany in full sun will tolerate the heat and sun better next year after having the chance to go through a fall and spring, or should I move those out of full sun and replace them with more Burgundy instead?