Download Lamium maculatum - Spotted Deadnettle (Lamiaceae)

Lamium maculatum - Spotted Deadnettle
(Lamiaceae)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lamium maculatum is known for its dense, silvergreen, mounding and trailing foliage, and pink,
lavender, or white spring flowers. Spotted Deadnettle
is used as a groundcover for shady situations.
FEATURES
Form
-medium-sized, semi-evergreen, herbaceous
perennial groundcover
-maturing at about 10" tall x 1.5' wide
-procumbent mat growth habit, forming a dense
mound
-medium growth rate, in terms of its perimeter spread
Culture
-partial shade to full shade
-needs an evenly moist, well-drained, moderately rich
soil in partial shade for optimum performance; not at
all urban tolerant, including a disdain for poor soils,
poorly drained soils, compacted soils, heat, prolonged
drought, or sunny spots
-propagated by crown division, lifting of rooted stem
segments, or rooted stem cuttings
-Mint Family, with no disease problems, but slug and
snail pest problems may cosmetically affect the
foliage on occasion, and exposure to excessive sun
and drought will scorch the foliage and lead to
dieback
-commonly available in containers or flats
-often melts out in the heat of summer (that is, the
spring foliage and stems die back to the original
crown or new peripherally-rooted crowns), but may
rejuvenate in the coolness of autumn
Foliage
-medium green for the species form (cultivars are
always silver-variegated, but shoots may occasionally
develop that revert to the vigorous, solid-green form,
and need to be rogued out)
-leaves are opposite, ovate, and crenate
-entire plant slowly dies back to the crown during late
autumn and early winter (evergreen in southern
climates), unless it never reemerged from summer
dormancy
Flowers
-shell pink, pink, dark lavender, or white, depending
upon cultivar
-flowering heavily in May and June and sporadically
thereafter, sometimes with a minor flush in early
autumn
-numerous clusters of small flowers occur at each
node and the stem terminals
-prominent "hooded" upper petals and "lipped" lower
petals are characteristic of the Mint family
Fruits
-brown and ornamentally inconspicuous
Twigs
-stems are square and green, procumbent and trailing,
occasionally rooting at the nodes, resulting in the
slow spread of this perennial groundcover
USAGE
Function
-edging or groundcover, used effectively in moist,
shaded areas
Texture
-medium texture
-thick density
Assets
-mounding and spreading groundcover with a solid
mat of silver-green variegated foliage
-pink, lavender, or white spring flowering, with
possible rebloom in early autumn
Liabilities
-often melts out during the heat and drought of
summer, even in shady sites
-subject to crown or stem rot in moisture-retentive
situations (frequent irrigation, poorly drained
locations, or heavy rain periods), and mass
groundcover plantings often develop "holes" as
individual plants die
-often retains leaf litter in late autumn and winter
-occasional green-foliaged sports need to be
immediately removed so that they will not take over
the planting
Habitat
-Zones 3 to 8
-Native to Europe and North America
SELECTIONS
Alternates
-other groundcovers or low perennials for semi-shady
situations noted for their variegated foliage or
flowering effects (Aegopodium podagraria
'Variegatum', Galium odoratum, Hosta cultivars,
Lamiastrum galeobdolon, Liriope muscari,
Pachysandra terminalis 'Variegata', Pulmonaria
saccharata, etc.)
Variants
-'Beacon Silver' - silver leaves with very narrow
green margins, having dark lavender flowers
-'Cannon's Gold' - golden yellowish green leaves with
pink flowers, rarely available now but will become a
standard in the years ahead
-'Chequers' - green leaves with a prominent silver
stripe down the midrib, with dark pink flowers, very
vigorous
-'Pink Pewter' - silver leaves with very narrow green
margins, having shell-pink flowers
-'White Nancy' - silver leaves with very narrow green
margins, having white flowers