Guide to growing garden plants - Lamium Dead Nettle
Members of the Lamium that are grown in the garden are usually done so for their beautiful foliage.
The Lamium genus are hardy perennials and contains many members most of which are weeds.
The leaves of garden grown Lamium are often silver; they carry flowers that look similar to those of snapdragon from the end of spring until the start of summer.
Some common names for Lamium include Dead Nettle, Yellow Archangel and Cobbler's bench.
Lamium purpureum by Blumenbiene: CC
Quick Lamium Growing Guide and Facts
Common Names: Dead Nettle, Cobbler’s Bench, Greater Henbit, Yellow Archangel.
Scientific names: Lamium maculatum; Lamium purpureum; Lamium amplexicaule; Lamium galeobdolon.
Life Cycle: Hardy perennial. Hardy Annual.
Height: 2 to 36 inches (5 to 90 cm).
Native: Europe, Asia, North Africa.
Growing Region: Zones 3 to 8.
Flowers: Year round.
Flower Details: White, purple, yellow. Spikes. Whorls. Hood-like petals. Snapdragon-like.
Foliage: Herbaceous. Silver, white, green. Variegated. Broad. Nettle-like.
Sow Outside: Cover seed. Spring for most species; autumn for yellow species. Spacing 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 cm).
Sow Inside: Germination time: one to two months. Temperature: 65 to 70°F (18 to 21°C). Nine or ten weeks in advance. Transplant outdoors following in spring or autumn.
Requirements and care: Full sunlight or partial shade. Good drainage. Poor soil. Provide a spring feed. Tidy up by shearing once flowering has completed. Protect from slugs. Propagate: by dividing or by taking root cuttings in the spring.
Miscellaneous: Invasive plant in many areas. The Lamium purpureum species can flower in mild winters and is often a source of nectar for bees at this time of year. Gets the name dead nettle due to the similarity of leaves to those of nettles; it does not possess stinging hairs.
How to grow Dead Nettle
The time that you sow the seeds of Lamium is dependent upon the species that you are growing; Yellow ones should be sown in autumn; purple or white species of Lamium should be sown in the spring. Once sown, lightly cover the seeds with topsoil. They can be grown in either a sunny or partially shaded part of the garden that has good drainage. Dead Nettle and other Lamium members like to grow in a poor soil.
When starting off Dead Nettle (Lamium) indoors they should be started off about 10 weeks before due to be out out in the garden. They take from one to two months to germinate at 17 to 21 degrees centigrade. The young Lamium plants should be put out in either the spring or autumn.
Caring for dead nettle and other Lamium in the garden
Members of the Lamium genus are weedy in nature so if you are growing them in the garden you should be prepared to keep an eye on them to stop them taking over the garden. They should be fertilized in the spring;. Once the flowering season is over they should be cut back. If you require more dead nettle plants then either take root cuttings or divide them in the spring.