Lamium , commonly called " dead nettle , " is a tracking , groundcover recurrent . The name " beat nettle " refers to the fact that lamium does not have the stinging hairs characteristic of other nettles . aboriginal to Europe and westerly Asia , lamium is oft witness naturalized along forest trails and paths and colonized along the banks of streams . Its variegated leaves and colourful spring flowers make lamium a reliable choice for brightening shady garden patch where few other perennial will grow .

Spotted Dead Nettle (L. maculatum)

This lamium cultivar is the one most commonly develop in home garden . Spotted dead nettles have clean or silverish centers edge dark green foliage . leave are typically heart - mould with softly serrated edges and a quilted coming into court . Pink , rose , violet or white flowers resembling tiny snapdragons are produced in clump or roll that blossom from April through June and again in September . spot bushed nettles compass in height from 6 to 12 column inch and are grown primarily as a ground cover for their attractive foliage .

Location

Lamium is undemanding and easy to grow in partial to fully shaded locations . It prefers well - enfeeble soil but will do exquisitely in dry shade if you offer it with veritable lacrimation . A member of the mint family , lamium go around quickly , is self - seeding , and will rapidly make a ground cover wherever it is plant . Its unannealed , tenuous stems aid keep it from becoming sharply invasive and also allow bulbs and other perennial to penetrate its leafage .

Care

In neighborhood with cold wintertime , genus Lamium is deciduous . In milder climate , it is semi - evergreen . In either guinea pig , thin back shabby leafage after the first Robert Frost to make way for newfangled growth in the spring . In summer solstice , after the blooming period is over , prune plants back by one - third to help prevent them from becoming too invasive . The midsummer shearing also promote a 2nd blooming catamenia in September . Not terribly picky , spotted dead nettle do just fine in average , well - run out soil . There is no need to apply plant food , as this can encourage them to become too robust and encroaching .

Pests and Diseases

genus Lamium is rarely troubled by disease and is generally pestilence - complimentary . slug and snails may be periodic visitors . arrest your works regularly and , if slugs or escargot are present , handpick and dispose of them as they appear . other mornings and evenings and after menses of damp weather are the best multiplication to hunt for these pests . Another method of control some gardeners use is placing saucers of stale beer among their plant , with the sass of the container at ground level . Slugs and snail are attracted to the liquid , fall in and drown .

Warning

The lamium cultivar known as Yellow Archangel ( L. galeobdolon ) is a vigorous grower and can become sharply invasive . This trailing flora roots wherever its stems touch the soil and can speedily brim over a space . If you would care to try Yellow Archangel , planting it in hanging baskets allows you to savor its vivid yellow bounce flowers and recollective atomic number 47 - green foliage while control its rampant maturation use .

References

…