Gardening Plant Encyclopedia Perennial Deadnettle By Viveka Neveln Viveka Neveln Instagram Viveka Neveln is the Garden Editor at BHG and a degreed horticulturist with broad gardening expertise earned over 3+ decades of practice and study. She has more than 20 years of experience writing and editing for both print and digital media. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on March 10, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Janet Loughrey. Deadnettle Overview Description Shade gardens can offer some tricky planting situations that just a few plants adapt to well. Deadnettle is one of the plants that does well in shade and a wide variety of other growing conditions. The plant is easy to grow and brings lots of color to a shady corner with colorful foliage and long-blooming flowers. Genus Name Lamium Common Name Deadnettle Plant Type Perennial Light Part Sun, Shade Height 6 to 12 inches Width 1 to 5 feet Flower Color Pink, Purple, White Foliage Color Blue/Green, Chartreuse/Gold, Gray/Silver Season Features Fall Bloom, Spring Bloom, Summer Bloom Special Features Attracts Birds, Fragrance, Good for Containers, Low Maintenance Zones 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Propagation Division, Seed, Stem Cuttings Problem Solvers Deer Resistant, Drought Tolerant, Groundcover, Slope/Erosion Control Garden Plans For Deadnettle Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke Janet Loughrey Illustration by Tom Rosborough Illustration by Gary Palmer Color Combinations The most basic varieties of deadnettles offer a dull grey-green foliage, but also have silver leaves or silver markings. There are a few varieties with golden foliage. Like many plants in the mint family, the small tubular blooms end in two lower lips and a large hooded top in shades of pink, purple and white. While their peak bloom is often in late spring to early summer, many varieties continue to put on blossoms throughout the growing season, only stopping when the first frost occurs. Deadnettle Care Must-Knows These easy-to-grow plants require very little care once established and create stunning mats of color in a shade garden. Deadnettles are most at home in well-drained soil with even moisture. Once established, they are quite tolerant of dry soil; they may just be a bit less vigorous. The biggest concern is overly moist soil. Most species and varieties will not tolerate too much moisture, so be sure to avoid soggy soil, especially standing water. Deadnettles prefer shade where they take on a green hue and their attractive variegations fade a bit over time. Since deadnettles are fairly vigorous growers, be sure to weed out any seedlings that develop. Shear the plants back after blossoming in their peak season to encourage well-branched plants and a hearty second bloom. More Varieties of Deadnettle Plant Deadnettle With: Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit