Ajuga x tenorii Cordial Canary

Ajuga tenorii 'Cordial Canary' is a new selection of creeping perennial offering a superb combination of colours, including a shiny golden foliage and generous royal blue spring flowers.  Its vegetation forms compact groundcover, slightly creeping, which remains decorative in winter. Perfect in slightly wild areas of the garden, but also in pots and containers, this small perennial prefers to be grown in shade, partial shade, or gentle sunlight, in soil that doesn't dry out too much in winter. A lovely low-maintenance plant!

'Cordial Canary' bugle is a golden version of the pretty hybrid variety 'Chocolate Chip with which it forms a perfect duo. This perennial plant belongs to the labiate family. It has a slower growth than its ancestor Ajuga reptans, is never invasive, and is a compact and remarkably coloured variety that forms a 10 cm (4in) tall carpet, made up of small leaves that are very different from those of more common varieties. They are ovate and elongated, shiny, and golden when they emerge. The plant produces weakly stoloniferous stems that root on their own, allowing it to eventually form a cushion about 40 cm (16in) in diameter. Its young spring leaves are a bright yellow colour, then gradually turn lime green, a colouration that the foliage retains during the coldest months. From May-June, small spikes made up of small flowers, striped with intense blue, appear just above the foliage at the end of each stem. They bloom for over a month.

Ajuga x tenorii 'Cordial Canary' can be planted along borders or pathways, among stones in fresh rockeries, in flower beds, or even in pots and containers to adorn balconies or terraces. Its beautiful colours blend wonderfully with purple foliage (Berberis thunbergii Atropurpurea Nana, Physocarpus Little Devil, etc.). Bugles are among the best creeping plants there are; they are perfect for dressing the base of trees and shrubs, in pots or shaded flower beds in combination with spring bulbs, Lamiums, and fairy flowers (Epimedium). In fresh rockeries, they can be planted alongside Acaena 'Blue Haze' or buchananii, Azorella trifurcata 'Nana', alchemillas, and saxifrages.