Lamium × coutinhoi
Spotted Deadnettle
Lamium maculatum
(L.) L. Species
- Botanical name
- Lamium maculatum
- Also known as
- Spotted Dead-Nettle, Spotted Deadnettle, Spotted Henbit, Variegated Dead-Nettle
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Genus
- Lamium
- Flowering period
- May to July
- Height
- 15–25 cm
- Spread
- 60–100 cm
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy (RHS H7)
- Reference
- World Flora Online
How to grow Spotted Deadnettle
Partial to full shade
Low to moderate once established
Any reasonable soil that does not dry out completely
Tolerates a wide range
Planting
Plant in autumn or spring as ground cover under shrubs or along a shady path edge. Space plants about 40 cm apart and they will knit together within a season. It copes with dry shade better than most ground cover, though it looks tired there in a drought.
Pruning
Shear the whole plant back after the main flush of flower to remove leggy stems and encourage fresh silvered foliage. A second, lighter flowering often follows.
Propagation
Very easy. Lift rooted sections of stem at almost any time in the growing season, or divide in spring or autumn. Stems root where they touch the ground, so material is rarely short.
Pests and diseases
Usually trouble-free. Powdery mildew can appear on the leaves in a dry summer, which the post-flowering shear-back largely deals with.
Value to wildlife
An early and useful source of nectar for bumblebees, which can reach into the hooded flowers when little else is out in shade.
Notes
It spreads by rooting runners and can swamp small or slow neighbours. Fine under shrubs, less so in a mixed planting of choice perennials.
This guidance was researched and written by GardenDecoded — see our editorial policy for how guides are checked and reviewed.
Other names for this plant
These names have all been used for Lamium maculatum but are no longer the accepted name. You may still meet them on old labels, in books, or in nursery catalogues.
Lamium affine
Lamium album var. maculatum
Lamium cardiaca
Lamium columnae
Lamium columnae var. glabratum
Lamium columnae var. pubescens
Lamium cupreum
Lamium cupreum subsp. dilatatum
Lamium cupreum var. dilatatum
Lamium elegantissimum
Lamium foliosum
Lamium grandiflorum
Lamium grenieri
Lamium gundelsheimeri
Lamium hirsutum
Lamium laevigatum
Lamium laevigatum var. glabratum
Lamium laevigatum var. minor
Lamium laevigatum var. pubescens
Lamium maculatum f. albiflorum
Lamium maculatum f. alpinum
Lamium maculatum f. brevidens
Lamium maculatum f. dimorphum
Lamium maculatum f. echinatum
Lamium maculatum f. fasciatum
Lamium maculatum f. glabratum
Lamium maculatum f. lacteum
Lamium maculatum f. longearistatum
Lamium maculatum f. macrophyllum
Lamium maculatum f. pallidiflorum
Lamium maculatum f. rhombifolium
Lamium maculatum f. roseum
Lamium maculatum f. subalpinum
Lamium maculatum f. tenoreanum
Lamium maculatum f. trilobum
Lamium maculatum lus. crenatum
Lamium maculatum lus. lacteum
Lamium maculatum lus. pallidiflorum
Lamium maculatum prol. hirsutum
Lamium maculatum prol. rubrum
Lamium maculatum prol. rugosum
Lamium maculatum subsp. nemorale
Lamium maculatum subsp. strictopurpureum
Lamium maculatum subvar. parviflorum
Lamium maculatum var. alpinum
Lamium maculatum var. bourgaei
Lamium maculatum var. crenatum
Lamium maculatum var. cupreum
Lamium maculatum var. echinatum
Lamium maculatum var. elatius
Lamium maculatum var. glabratum
Lamium maculatum var. grenieri
Lamium maculatum var. hirsutum
Lamium maculatum var. humilius
Lamium maculatum var. inflatum
Lamium maculatum var. kansuense
Lamium maculatum var. lacteum
Lamium maculatum var. laevigatum
Lamium maculatum var. longearistatum
Lamium maculatum var. longifolium
Others in Lamium
GardenDecoded is an educational gardening reference. Botanical data comes from World Flora Online and GBIF; growing guidance is our own. Always check a plant's toxicity and local invasiveness status before planting, and never eat or apply a plant based on this site alone.