University of Vermont Extension System
Department of Plant and Soil Science

Perennials this Month - March 1998

Dr. Leonard P. Perry, Extension Professor, University of Vermont

Lamium maculatum 'Beedham's White'

(laa' mee-um ma-cue-laa' tum)

Common name: Spotted Deadnettle

Family: Lamiaceae, Mint

Height x width: 8-12" high x 24-36" wide

Growth rate: moderate to fast

Foliage: stoloniferous square stems, opposite ovate and bristly hairy leaves, wavy to toothed margin, chartreuse yellow with central white, unlike most cultivars with green variegated white

Flowers: white, hooded, ½-1" long, in whorls on short spikes above foliage, late spring to early summer

Hardiness: zones 3-8

Soil: moist, well-drained

Light: shade

Pests and Problems: leaf scorch from full sun and insufficient moisture, purplish fungal leaf spots, stem rots from excessive wetness

Landscape habit, uses: groundcover for shade; nice combined with daffodils and hostas--both blue-leaved and yellow variegated

Other interest: native to Europe and N. America; genus name from the Latin name used by Pliny

Other culture: may become straggly in zones 7-9 or in dry shade, in which case cut back; in ideal situations may be quite vigorous

Propagation: cuttings, division

Sources: as always, check with your local garden center or perennial nursery; Busse Gardens, 5873 Oliver Ave SW, Cokato, MN 55321; Bluebird Nursery, Clarkson, NE 68629 (fomer both retail or wholesale, latter wholesale, mail order with catalogs, listing it for 1996)