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