Dead nettle SEEDS, ANNUAL FLOWERS HERB

Fast growing, flowering at almost any time of the year, self seeding, easy to grow, annual to biennial.

Lamium purpureum, known as red dead-nettle, purple dead-nettle, or purple archangel, is a herbaceous flowering plant native to Europe and Asia.

Plant Description

Purple deadnettle’s scientific name Lamium purpureum has the Greek translation ‘the devouring purple monster’. The name is perfect to describe the effect the weed has on its environment. It is an annual winter weed in generally warm areas, which transforms entire plowed farmed lands into reddish purple fields. It has multiple medicinal purposes, and is considered a diuretic, diaphoretic, astringent, purgative, and styptic. The fresh leaves are helpful for external wounds or cuts.

Only the leaves are edible. In the spring, the young leaf shoots are harvestable and can commonly used within salads. Some people also use it within smoothies. The leaves are also useful as a good tea, which helps treat chills and promote kidney discharge and perspiration

Lamium Growing and Care Guide

Common Names: Dead Nettle, Cobbler’s Bench, Greater Henbit, Yellow Archangel.
Scientific names: Lamium maculatum; Lamium purpureum; Lamium amplexicaule; Lamium galeobdolon.
Life Cycle: Hardy perennial. Hardy Annual.
Height: 2 to 36 inches (5 to 90 cm).
Native: Europe, Asia, North Africa.
Growing Region: Zones 3 to 8.
Flowers: Year round.
Flower Details: White, purple, yellow. Spikes. Whorls. Hood-like petals. Snapdragon-like.
Foliage: Herbaceous. Silver, white, green. Variegated. Broad. Nettle-like.
Sow Outside: Cover seed. Spring for most species; autumn for yellow species. Spacing 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 cm).
Sow Inside: Germination time: one to two months. Temperature: 65 to 70°F (18 to 21°C). Nine or ten weeks in advance. Transplant outdoors following in spring or autumn.
Requirements and care: Full sunlight or partial shade. Good drainage. Poor soil. Provide a spring feed. Tidy up by shearing once flowering has completed. Protect from slugs. Propagate: by dividing or by taking root cuttings in the spring.