Lamium

It’s pretty, but it can be frustrating. Lamium is great for its toughness (hardy to Zone 2) and its quick spread, but if (when?) it gets out of control, watch out. You could be battling it for a long, long time.

The wild plant, Lamium maculatum, is native to Europe and parts of Asia. It’s mostly green with some lighter spots and pink flowers appearing at the leaf nodes. Plant masters have mixed and morphed them into variegated leaves of two sorts; one is green with a silver or yellow stripe down the middle and the other is primarily whitish with a narrow band of green on the borders of the leaf. Flowers come in shades of purple, pink and white. If you have yellow-flowering plants, they are Lamium galeobdolon, or yellow archangel, native to Europe, which is similar but more invasive. If you’ve ever tried to get rid of it, you’ll know what I mean.

It does best in light shade in soil rich in humus that drains well, but you can plant it just about anywhere. Mine escaped my garden and is popping up around my driveway, which is covered in limestone screenings.

The plant increases by aboveground runners. Wherever a basal stem (one without flowers) touches the ground, it will root. It also will seed freely, but seedlings won’t be the same as the parents. Watch for these volunteers and pull them out because they can increase and overwhelm the cultivars you are growing.

Here are a few common cultivars you can try.

‘Album’ has dark green leaves with a silver stripe and white blooms.

‘Anne Greenaway’ has dark green leaves with chartreuse margin and silver stripe and pink flowers.

‘Aureum’ has chartreuse leaves and light pink flowers.

‘Beedham’s White’ has leaves that are quite yellow with a white stripe and white flowers.

‘Chequers’ has green leaves with a silver stripe and dark pink flowers. This one is particularly vigorous.

‘Cosmopolitan’ has small silver leaves with a very fine green border and pink flowers.

‘Orchid Frost’ has silver leaves with a blue-green border and pink flowers.

By shauna dobbie

Lamium ‘White Nancy’.

Lamium ‘Orchid Frost’. Lamium ‘Pink Pewter.’

Lamium ‘Anne Greenaway’.

‘Pink Nancy’ has silver leaves with green margins and light pink flowers.

‘Pink Pewter’ has small silver leaves with a green border and pink flowers.

‘Purple Dragon’ has small silver leaves with a green border and big pinky purple flowers.

‘Red Nancy’ has silver leaves with green border and purple flowers; it’s called ‘Red Nancy’ because the stems have a reddish tinge.

‘Roseum’ has dark green leaves with a silver stripe and rosy flowers.

‘Shell Pink’ has green leaves with a silver stripe and pink flowers.

‘White Nancy’ has silver leaves with a thin green border and white flowers. j