Lamium Might Solve Your Groundcover Problems

Lamium maculatum has long been my first recommendation as a groundcover for shady problem areas. I have several patches of the cultivar "Chequers" in my yard where it thrives and gives me just what I want from a groundcover. It ranks as a 10 in my book, so I was surprised to read some no-so-enthusiastic articles about Lamium recently. See if it's worth a try in your yard.

Lamium maculatum is the botanical name of the plant commonly known as dead nettle or spotted dead nettle. This unglamorous nickname originated from the plant's resemblance to stinging nettles, but, it lacks the nasty stinging qualities, hence the "dead" tag. Wild forms grow around the world as common weeds, but about 30 cultivated species with garden value are sold. As with most plants, some cultivars perform better than others, so take care in picking.

Groundcovers are often called upon to fill in difficult areas where more precious featured plants fear to tread. Lamium does just that in my zone 6 semi-shady garden dominated by a huge old oak tree. In the wild, Lamium grows in a wide range of conditions, on rocky, woody hillsides, in dry shade and where woods border open fields. This makes it a candidate for deep shade to light, open shade, but not so much in fiercely sunny spots.

While Lamium spreads rapidly in moist spots and laughs at dry shade, it might succumb to wet, poorly drained soil. One source slammed it as a plant that would rot easily in wet conditions, but turn that characteristic to the positive and use it under a big tree with a greedy root system where little else will thrive.

As a card carrying member of the mint family, Lamium is not bothered by deer. The pests don't cotton to stuff we regard as herbal.