Ornamental · Lamiaceae
Spotted Dead Nettle
Lamium maculatum
Tuck it into cool, dry shade where little else thrives, and the silver foliage lights 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, traveling groundcover built for the shade, prized as much for its silver-marked leaves as for the pink, mauve, or white flowers that climb above them in late spring. It belongs to the mint family and shares that clan's fast, mat-forming drive. The name trips people up, since the leaves mimic a stinging nettle yet pack no sting whatsoever.
Few plants reward a tough corner this readily. It climbs 6 to 9 inches (15 to 23 cm) tall and weaves into a dense carpet, flooding the ground under shrubs and along the gloomy north wall of a house where grass throws in the towel. The stems root as they roam, so a handful of plants soon reads as one unbroken sheet of foliage.
Hand it cool, moist, shaded ground and it returns months of color for next to no effort. Shove it into hot, dry, sunny ground and the leaves scorch and thin. Grant the shade it craves, and the only chore remaining is keeping its eager march inside the bed you marked for it.
Care
The short version: part to full shade, cool and evenly moist soil that drains freely, one shearing once the flowers fade, and an edge to pin the spreading mat right where you want it.
Light
Hand it part to full shade. A little morning or dappled sun goes down fine, but a hot, sunny spot scorches and thins the foliage, so the deeper shade where grass struggles is precisely where this plant shines.
Water
Hold the soil cool and evenly moist, watering roughly every 5 to 10 days and stepping it up through a dry spell. Once established it weathers dry shade, but the leaves brown and thin if it bakes, so never let it run bone dry in heat.
Soil
Set it into humusy, well-drained loam packed with organic matter, with a pH anywhere from 6.0 to 7.5. The one thing it won't forgive is wet or compacted ground, which opens the door to crown rot.
Temperature
It shrugs off a wild range, taking anything from -40°F to 84°F (-40°C to 29°C). Cold poses no threat, but a long stretch of summer heat and humidity can melt the mat out in patches.
Humidity
Plain outdoor humidity suits it, so there's no target number to chase. Air movement counts for far more, since still, muggy air around crowded leaves is what kicks off leaf spot and blight.
Feeding
Count this one a light feeder that seldom asks for a meal. A single helping of balanced general-purpose fertilizer in spring covers it, and overdoing it only forces soft, floppy growth.
Pruning
Shear or cut the plants back hard after they bloom. That one pass strips tired foliage, fills in any bare patches, and frequently coaxes a second flush of flowers.
Repotting
It seldom asks for repotting, but a container plant signals its moment when the center goes bare and dead or the roots cram the pot and dry out fast. Split it and replant into fresh soil right then.
Size & spacing
Plants hug the ground at 6 to 9 inches (15 to 23 cm) tall, yet each one fans out 12 to 24 inches (30 to 61 cm) wide, so space them far enough apart to knit into a carpet without jamming together.
When to plant
Spotted dead nettle is a tough perennial that returns on its own from zone 3 clear up to zone 8. Set it out in spring as soon as the ground can be worked, watch for flowers from late spring into summer, and shear it afterward to freshen the foliage through 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
Most snags with dead nettle trace back to a poor spot or one too damp. Browning leaves usually flag a site too hot and dry, while holes and spots tip you off to slugs or wet-weather fungus. Match what you spot below and correct the conditions before you reach for anything stronger.
Crisped edges, browning leaves, and gaps opening in the carpet
What you're seeing is leaf scorch, and it crops up when the planting lands somewhere too hot, too dry, or too bright for a plant that craves cool, moist shade. Hot, humid summers can also spark melt-out, where chunks of a mass planting brown and thin all at once. Take the shears to it, cut hard, and let fresh foliage push back; keep the soil evenly moist, and rescue anything stranded in a roasting, sunny corner.
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
Muddled up with the invasive yellow archangel
Gardeners often mistake spotted dead nettle for yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon), a different cousin that truly is invasive and carries that listing across the western US. Two clues sort them out fast: yellow archangel flowers yellow and charges outward on rooting runners, while spotted dead nettle blooms pink, mauve, or white and stays simple to manage. Stick with Lamium maculatum cultivars, and yank any yellow archangel the moment you spot it.
Fix:
- Identify and remove yellow archangel where present
- Choose Lamium maculatum cultivars rather than L. galeobdolon
A roaming carpet that strays past its bed
Dead nettle travels on sprawling stems that root the moment they meet soil, so the mat keeps widening under its own steam. It's vigorous and quick, yet simple to rein in, never a true thug. Snip or pull the stems wandering over the line, sink some edging to hold the boundary, and split a stand once it outgrows its patch.
Fix:
- Pull or cut back encroaching stems at bed edges
- Install edging to contain the planting
- Divide and thin overgrown stands
Tattered holes and spotted leaves where the shade stays wet
Slugs rack up most of the damage, rasping ragged holes through the tender leaves anywhere the shade holds moisture. That same wet, humid air rolls out the welcome mat for leaf spot and leaf blight, with aphids dropping by every so often. Put out slug traps or bait, peel away any spotted or blighted leaves, and thin the planting so air flows through and the foliage dries quicker.
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 skips the ASPCA's poison lists, and despite the name it grows no stinging hairs, so people and pets stay safe around it. A curious cat or dog that grabs a big mouthful of leaves earns nothing worse than a passing upset stomach.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Fine to grow around cats. Should one wolf down a big mouthful of leaves, expect a brief upset stomach and nothing worse.
Dogs None
Carries no real risk for dogs. A nosy chewer that gulps a large helping of foliage might show some mild, short-lived stomach upset, and that's the ceiling.
Horses Safe
Harmless to horses, with no poisoning on record from grazing it.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can crop the soft leaves without trouble, though it shouldn't push out their hay and greens.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep graze it without issue, and it holds none of the toxins that trouble pasture animals.
Birds Safe
Holds no danger for birds. Backyard hens and wild visitors can peck the foliage with nothing to fear.
People Safe
Safe for people, and the young leaves are edible to boot. The name misleads: there are no stinging hairs, so working with it bare-handed is 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 earn their keep on silver foliage and split apart mainly by flower color. Here are the ones you'll bump into most often, plus a look-alike to give a wide berth.
White Nancy
Brightens deep shade like few others, carrying silvery-white leaves rimmed in green beneath clean white flowers.
Beacon Silver
Sends up pink flowers over broad silver leaves that light a dim corner.
Pink Pewter
Sets the same silver foliage against softer, paler pink blooms.
Purple Dragon
The boldest of the lot, lofting large purple flowers over silver-marked leaves.
Orchid Frost
Plays frosted silver leaves against warm orchid-pink flowers.
Yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon)
Steer clear of this one, since it is a separate, 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 calls for almost no work, since the plant is already spreading and rooting under its own power as it grows.
DivisionEasy
Spring · 4-8 weeks
Division is the quick, dependable route to more plants, and spring is the time to do it. Lift an established mat, tease or cut it into clumps, drop them wherever you want fresh cover, and they take hold in roughly 4 to 8 weeks. The plant pitches in too, rooting on its own at any node where a sprawling stem meets soil.
Myths
The name promises a sting, so dead nettle must sting like a nettle.
Those leaves really do mimic a true stinging nettle, which is exactly how the name landed, but the resemblance stops cold there. Spotted dead nettle is a mint-family plant with soft foliage and no stinging hairs at all, and it doesn't even share a family with true stinging nettle (Urtica dioica). Grab it bare-handed without a second thought.