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Lamiaceae FAMILY

Lamium galeobdolon

Lamium galeobdolon

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
GrowthFast

Lamium galeobdolon is a fairly hardy plant, once established it can tolerate winter temperatures down to -20°c or lower[1, 2]. A very easily grown plant, it tolerates most soils and conditions, though it prefers a moist, well-drained soil in partial shade[1, 2]. It grows well in heavy clay soils[3], though it prefers a light calcareous soil[4]. Dislikes dry soils[5]. This species succeeds even in dense shade, growing well under trees[5, 1]. Once established, it can also succeed in drought conditions under the shade of trees, providing there is plenty of humus in the soil[6]. There are at least four sub-species, L. galeobdolon montanum is the form generally found wild in Britain and it is a triploid. L. galeobdolon luteum and L. galeobdolon flavidum are both diploids[7]. L. galeobdolon argentatum is the more rampant form, its clone 'Variegatum' is a commonly used ground cover plant for shady places[7]. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[8]. A very invasive plant, sending out long prostrate shoots that root at intervals along the stems[5, 1].

Propagation

Seed - usually self sows freely and should not require human intervention. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. The seed can also be sown in situ as soon as it is ripe. Division in spring. Succeeds at almost any time in the growing season. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Lamium+galeobdolon>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder — Missouri Botanical Garden · http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ ↩︎Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
  3. [3]Flora of the British Isles. — Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. · Cambridge University Press · 1962 · ISBN - ↩︎A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
  4. [4]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  5. [5]Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland. — Brown. ↩︎
  6. [6]The Dry Garden. — Chatto. B. · Dent · 1982 · ISBN 0460045512 ↩︎A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.
  7. [7]Perennials. Volumes 1 and 2. — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1991 · ISBN 0-330-30936-9 ↩︎Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
  8. [8]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons, London. · 1990 · ISBN 0 460 86048 8 ↩︎A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
  9. [9]Food for Free. — Mabey. R. · Collins · 1974 · ISBN 0-00-219060-5 ↩︎Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.
  10. [10]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  11. [11]Wild food plant use in 21st century Europe: the disappearance of old traditions and the search for new cuisines invo — Luczaj L. et al · 2012 · http://10.5586/asbp.2012.031 ↩︎
  12. [12]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.