Ornamental · Lamiaceae
Spotted Dead Nettle
Lamium maculatum
Tuck it into cool, dry shade where almost nothing else takes hold, and its silver leaves light the ground all season long.
Partial shade
Every 5–10 days
USDA 3–8
6–9 in · 15–23 cm
Overview
Spotted dead nettle is a low, creeping groundcover for the shade, prized as much for the silver markings splashed across its leaves as for the pink, mauve, or white flowers that lift above them in late spring. A member of the mint family, it carries that clan's habit of knitting fast into a low mat. The name fools people, since the foliage mimics a stinging nettle yet holds not a single sting.
Few plants are this forgiving in a hard place. It rises only 6 to 9 inches (15 to 23 cm) and weaves together into a thick carpet, filling the ground beneath shrubs and along the shadowed north wall where lawn grass quits. Each stem roots as it crawls, so a handful of plants soon reads as one unbroken sheet of leaves.
It wants cool, moist, shaded ground, and in return it gives months of leaf color with next to no fuss. Force it into a hot, dry, sunny bed and the leaves crisp and grow thin. Hand it the shade it craves and the only real task left is holding its eager creep inside the bed you planned for it.
Care
The short version: part to full shade, cool soil kept evenly moist yet draining freely, one shearing once the flowers fade, and an edge to pin the spreading mat where it belongs.
Light
Give it part to full shade. It accepts a little morning or dappled sun, but a hot, open spot crisps and thins the leaves, so the deeper shade where grass falters is precisely where this plant looks its best.
Water
Hold the soil cool and evenly moist, watering about every 5 to 10 days and more often through a dry stretch. Once settled it copes with dry shade, but the leaves brown and thin where it bakes, so never let it go bone dry in heat.
Soil
Plant into humusy, well-drained loam thick with organic matter, with a pH falling anywhere from 6.0 to 7.5. The one thing it can't abide is wet or compacted ground, which opens the door to crown rot.
Temperature
It is strikingly hardy, riding out anything from -40°F to 84°F (-40°C to 29°C). Cold poses no threat, though a long spell of summer heat and humidity can melt the mat out in patches.
Humidity
Plain outdoor humidity suits it, so there's no target to chase. Air movement counts for more, since still, muggy air trapped around packed leaves is what brings on leaf spot and blight.
Feeding
A light feeder, it seldom asks for anything. One helping of balanced general-purpose fertilizer in spring is plenty, and overdoing it only forces soft, floppy growth.
Pruning
Shear or cut the plants back hard after they bloom. That single cut sweeps away tired foliage, closes any bald gaps, and often draws out a fresh round of flowers.
Repotting
It rarely needs a new pot, but a container plant signals the moment when the center goes bare and dead or the roots cram the pot and dry out fast. Divide it then and replant into fresh soil.
Size & spacing
Each plant stays low at 6 to 9 inches (15 to 23 cm) tall yet sprawls 12 to 24 inches (30 to 61 cm) across, so place them far enough apart to knit into a carpet without jostling for room.
When to plant
Spotted dead nettle is a tough perennial that returns each year on its own from zone 3 through zone 8. Set it out in spring once the soil can be worked, watch for flowers from late spring into summer, and shear it back afterward to freshen the leaves for the rest of the season.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: spring
- Harvest: Late spring into summer
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Almost every problem with dead nettle traces back to the wrong spot or too much wet. Browning leaves usually signal heat and drought, while holes and spots flag slugs or wet-weather fungus. Match what you see below and correct the conditions before reaching for anything stronger.
Crisped leaf edges and thin, balding gaps across the carpet
Brown, papery leaf margins and thinning foliage are the marks of leaf scorch, and they appear when the carpet is sitting somewhere too sunny, too hot, or too parched for a plant built for cool, damp shade. Heat and muggy summer air can also trigger melt-out, where broad sections of a mass planting turn brown and grow sparse. Shear the foliage back hard so fresh silver leaves push out, keep the soil evenly damp, and shift any plant caught in a scorching open spot.
Fix:
- Cut or shear plants back to stimulate fresh new foliage growth
- Increase watering to keep soil evenly moist
- Relocate or shade plants sited in hot, dry, sunny areas
Confused with the invasive yellow archangel
People mistake spotted dead nettle for yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon), a different cousin that is genuinely invasive and listed that way across the western US. The flowers and the running habit give it away: yellow archangel bears yellow blooms and sprints outward on rooting runners, while spotted dead nettle opens pink, mauve, or white and stays well behaved. Set out Lamium maculatum cultivars and yank any yellow archangel you spot.
Fix:
- Identify and remove yellow archangel where present
- Choose Lamium maculatum cultivars rather than L. galeobdolon
A low silver carpet that keeps crawling past its bed
The plant travels on sprawling stems that root the moment they touch soil, so the mat keeps inching wider on its own. Quick to fill in but simple to rein back, it never turns into a real bully. Tug or clip the stems sliding over the edge, drop in some edging to hold a clean line, and split a clump that has outgrown its room.
Fix:
- Pull or cut back encroaching stems at bed edges
- Install edging to contain the planting
- Divide and thin overgrown stands
Ragged holes and freckled leaves in damp shade
Most of the chewing comes from slugs, rasping ragged holes through the tender leaves wherever the shade holds its moisture. That same wet, close air seeds leaf spot and leaf blight, and aphids show up here and there. Put out slug traps or bait, pick off any freckled or blighted leaves, and thin the planting so air slips through and the foliage dries sooner.
Fix:
- Control slugs with traps or baits
- Remove and dispose of spotted or blighted foliage
- Improve air circulation and avoid overhead watering
Toxicity
Welcome news for homes with animals: spotted dead nettle is not toxic. It appears on none of the ASPCA's poison lists, and in spite of the name it grows no stinging hairs, so people and pets are safe near it. A curious cat or dog gnawing a big mouthful of leaves might end up with a passing upset stomach, and that is all.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Fine to keep near cats. Should one work through a big mouthful of the soft leaves, expect a brief queasy stomach at most and nothing worse.
Dogs None
Dogs face no genuine hazard. A determined chewer working through a large helping of foliage might show some mild, passing stomach upset, and that is the ceiling.
Horses Safe
Harmless to horses, and grazing on it has produced no reports of poisoning.
Rabbits Safe
The soft leaves are safe for rabbits to nibble, as long as they don't push out the hay and greens that belong in the diet.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep graze it without trouble, since it holds none of the toxins that bother pasture animals.
Birds Safe
Birds are in no danger from it. Backyard hens and passing wild visitors can peck at the leaves with nothing to fear.
People Safe
Safe for people, with young leaves that are edible besides. The name misleads: there are no stinging hairs, so picking it up bare-handed is perfectly fine.
Despite the name it is a dead nettle with soft, non-stinging foliage and no stinging hairs, so handling is safe; pets nibbling foliage may have mild GI upset.
Varieties
Most named dead nettles are chosen for their silver leaves and part ways mainly on flower color. Here are the ones you'll meet most often, plus a single look-alike worth dodging.
White Nancy
Brightens the deepest shade, its silvery-white leaves rimmed with a thin green edge and topped by crisp white flowers.
Beacon Silver
Holds pink flowers above wide silver leaves that glow in a dim corner.
Pink Pewter
Sets the same silver leaves under softer, paler pink blooms.
Purple Dragon
Loudest of the group, lifting large purple flowers over silver-marked leaves.
Orchid Frost
Carries frosted silver leaves beneath warm orchid-pink flowers.
Yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon)
Steer clear of this one, a separate and genuinely invasive Lamium relative with yellow flowers and aggressive rooting runners that is listed invasive in the western US, not a true spotted dead nettle cultivar.
How to propagate
Multiplying dead nettle costs almost no effort, because the plant is already creeping and striking roots on its own as it grows.
DivisionEasy
Spring · 4-8 weeks
Splitting the clumps is the simple, dependable route to more plants, and spring is the time to do it. Lift a settled mat, tear or cut it into pieces, tuck each one where more cover is wanted, and they take hold in roughly 4 to 8 weeks. Much of the work is already done for you, since the sprawling stems strike roots on their own at any node that meets soil.
Myths
Dead nettle stings like a nettle because the name says so.
Those leaves really do mimic a true stinging nettle, and that resemblance is exactly where the name comes from, but the likeness goes no further. This is a mint-family plant with soft, smooth foliage and no stinging hairs at all, and it isn't even a relative of true stinging nettle (Urtica dioica). Pick it up bare-handed without a second thought.