Lamium

Spotted Dead Nettle

medium-sized, semi-evergreen, herbaceous perennial groundcover

maturing at about 10" tall by 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 re-emerged 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