The small leaves are speckled with spots, which earns the plant its name. Elsewhere (and depending on growing conditions), they are more likely to besemi-evergreen, herbaceous plants. Spotted Deadnettle - Grow Tips And Care Of Lamium - Gardenfrontier It prefers full sun. It is perfect for a small space, like a little garden along a north-facing wall. Need an easy evergreen carpet to plant where no grass dare grow? It has a stripe down the middle that can be white, yellow, red, or silver. 3. Lamium is in the mint family (Lamiaceae), which provides a hint as to its toughness. It spreads rapidly by above-ground runners and is hardy to Zone 4. Providing extra spacing between plants can lessen leaf-spotting, but this somewhat defeats the purpose of growing spotted dead nettles, as one of their best features is that they spread and fill in an area, thereby crowding out weeds. Ground Covers and Rock Garden Plants for Mountain Communities - Extension Any solid green leaves should be snipped out, otherwise, the plant will eventually lose the variegated leaves and become all green. 14. Its starry white flowers appear late in the season at a time when many other perennials are finished blooming, making it an important food source for pollinators. Infinitely touchable, the velvety, fuzzy foliage of this plant is aptly named (c'mon, just look at it). Lamium is evergreen from Zone 6 south. No special soil is needed for it to flourish and reseed. Read more about purple dead nettle and henbit. However, keep it away from turf grass to avoid damage. It matures to a maximum height of only 6 inches, so many gardeners choose to plant creeping phlox on a slope or along the top of a retaining wall to appreciate its beauty from several angles. In the South or West, the ground cover may lose its leaves or die back in the cold months. Spotted Dead Nettle is an excellent ground cover plant because of its flowers and its spreading growth habit. 20 Best Ground Cover Plants and Flowers - Good Housekeeping 10 Best Ground Cover Plants | The Family Handyman Whatever you decide to mix it with, remember to select plants that need partial to full shade. How to Grow and Care for Spotted Dead Nettles - The Spruce Virtually disease and pest free, Spotted Dead Nettle is also deer and rabbit resistant. Lamium. They thrive in or out of sunlight, and they seem to multiply on their own thanks to their rhizomatous roots. It is evergreen, but some of the leaves may turn brown during winter. Lamium is rarely troubled by disease and is generally pest-free. The lower the zone, the hardier the plant. Alyssum is an annual ground cover that grows very well from direct sow seeding once temperatures have reached 65 to 70 degrees. Copyright 2023 Acton Media Inc. All rights reserved. The plant dies back to the ground in the winter and comes out in the spring, but giving it a good shearing before winter will help keep the plants healthy. And lasting from late spring to midsummer, and can be reddish-purple, pink, or white depending on the variety. There are also several cultivars (all cold-hardy to at least zone 4, most 3 to 12 inches tall, and all wanting the sun/soil conditions of the species plant) of L.maculatum, including: While dead nettle plants areflowering perennials,stinging nettles, by contrast,arenoxious weeds(but edible when properly prepared). If the hill is big, remove the grass in stages so as not to take unnecessary chances with erosion. To plant creeping juniper on a grassy slope, get rid of the grass, then lay down landscape fabric along the slope. Pink or white flowers bloom in spring and summer. Here's how: While they can self-seed themselves, spotted dead nettles do not do well if you try to grow them from seed. Note that Lenten rose is toxic to animals. I put the Lamium along a side of the housewhere the soil is very thin and a lot of plants do not like to grow. Lamium (Deadnettle) Wonderful as ground cover in a shady area, Spotted deadnettle ( Lamium maculatum) can cover large areas quickly, prevailing in the most unforgiving of conditions. Yet, it quickly covers the ground and produces clusters of white flowers. Lamium is an excellent ground cover for shade. Thats the beauty of this native spring ephemeral that goes by several names including woodland phlox, wild sweet William and Phlox divaricata. . Whats more, it requires relatively little maintenance, and it resists deer and other critters. Fix your gardens trouble spots with these low-growing perennials, annuals, and shrubs. It needs full sun to bloom best. As with yellow alyssum, Angelina sedum can be regarded as a "Goldilocks" ground cover. If you've seen the lavender fields in Provence, you know this sweetly-scented perennial with purple or blue flowers looks amazing planted en masse. . This native, weed-suppressing ground cover spreads quickly by seed and offshoots to fill challenging spaces under tall trees, along the waters edge, or in that tough strip between the street and sidewalk. Depending on the variety, you can expect this ground cover to behave as a creeper, or a low-mounded perennial, with small flowers that resemble snapdragons blooming in summer. Some leaves may revert back to an all-green color (instead of being variegated); be sure to prune these out, so that the green color does not eventually take over the plant. Hardy and deer resistant in USDA Zones 4 through 8, this colonizing fern prefers humus-rich, moist but well-drained soils. Its variegated leaves and colorful spring flowers make Lamium a reliable choice for brightening shady garden spots where few other perennials will grow. Ground Cover Plants for Pollinators Homestead Lady With a long bloom period and colorful foliage, most varieties are eye-catching plants throughout the year. Lamium maculatum: Also called spotted deadnettle, forms a dense mat over. Sometimes called Pinks because the petals look like they've been trimmed with pinking shears, this pretty ground cover comes in a range of heights, anywhere from low-growing to 2 feet tall. Although it is most. Bishop's Goutweed While it works great for ground cover in a shaded area, you will never, ever get rid of it. Creeping Charlie - Use and Control of the Shade Loving Groundcover 10 Easy-Care Groundcovers That Thrive in the Toughest Spots Its a well-behaved spreader, and is not invasive. Though its lush leaves dont scream drought tolerant, sedum boasts an ability to root and thrive in even the driest, rockiest settingsthus earning it the familiar name stonecrop. The secret? Vinca minor(commonly known as periwinkle) is a very popular ground cover because it's drought-tolerant, pest-free, inexpensive, and easy to grow in just about any type of soil. This fast-growing annual looks gorgeous tumbling over rock walls or along the edges of walkways. Lamium is an excellent ground cover for shade. The unusual common name of "dead nettles" alludes to the fact that, while it resembles stinging nettles, the stingers are dead on L. maculatum, rendering it harmless. Ground Cover Lamium Collection | Spring Hill Nurseries This species of plumbago is cold hardy to USDA Zone 5, but will survive winter better if you cover it with a light mulch, or if theres snow cover. A native of Moultrie, Ga., she graduated from Queens University of Charlotte, formerly Queens College. David Beaulieu is a landscaping expert and plant photographer, with 20 years of experience. Even in Zone 5, where one lives, they persist well into the winter. .css-lwn4i5{display:block;font-family:Neutra,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:bold;letter-spacing:-0.01rem;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;text-align:center;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-lwn4i5:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-lwn4i5{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-lwn4i5{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-lwn4i5{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-lwn4i5{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}9 Best Gardening Subscription Boxes 2023, 20 Best Tall Indoor Plants to Shop Online, 85 Surprising Flower Meanings With Pictures. It gets its name because light reflects off its hairy growths and sparkles on the landscape. Rock cotoneaster is considered a full-shun shrub but benefits from some afternoon shade. Cost: Buy 200 seeds for around $7 or a large, potted plant for around $20. Daylilies:ground covers around daylilies? - Dave's Garden Plant this deer- and rabbit-resistant herb in the spring and its fuzzy leaves will cover large areas by autumn. Flowering Plants for Bare Garden Spots - Ground Cover Dogwood. Care Grow the quick-growing groundcovers in moist, but well-drained soil in partial or full shade. The leaves are fairly small, about one inch in diameter. It prefers moist ground, drought-tolerant once established, and needs full shade. If you prefer a small hosta, opt for 'Blue Mouse Ears' that grows 6 to 12 inches high with round, heart-shaped blue-green leaves. This tuberous perennial has long, thin, chive-like foliage you can enjoy in the kitchen; the greenery is topped by tiny purple flowers in the summer, and its also available in a variegated type. Choose from an annual or perennial variety, and watch charming daisy-like flowers bloom throughout this bushy plant. This woodland sedge can tolerate drier soils than many species. 20 Ground Cover Plants to Fill out Your Garden, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. This is great if you need to cover a problem area with an attractive ground cover, but not so good if you are trying to grow them in a place where you need a well-behaved plant. Well to make a long stroy short the Lamium is gone and in its place we planted a very small ground cover called Tiny Thyme. The large, veined, heart-shaped leaves have a spread of 18 to 24 inches, and most varieties bloom in late spring with small pink flowers. Lamium covers up that soil and adds colorful flowers, foliage and texture. The plant's multicolored leaves and tiny pastel flowers look attractive by themselves along a walkway or mingled. Although rich, moist, acidic soils are ideal, this plant will also grow in alkaline, sandy and clay soils. 17 Best Ground Cover Plants For Shade - Get Busy Gardening Our native white wood aster (Aster divaricatus), which grows in USDA Zones 3 through 8, spreads underground and by seed to form dense colonies even in dry shade conditions. plant hardiness zones 4 through 8.