I would love to know of your experiences with Lamium in general and the variety "Orchid Frost" in particular. I have recently read that "Orchid Frost" is a non stop bloomer which performs in lots of shade and even in drier shade once established? What say you all?
'Orchid Frost' Lamium?
Haven't tried that cultivar but an old lamium, 'Beacon Silver', is a royal pain. It self-seeds to an outrageous degree.
Lamium is a real problem for me. I have been pulling it ages, and just as I think I've won the war, they grace me with babies coming from who knows where! I got mine from my my mom who lives in a colder part of the country, with heavy frost in Winter, and they survive even there. That said, they really don't mind dry shade, and it is better than bare earth...
In 2009 I got Lamium maculatum 'Chequers' and planted it in clayey soil (dry in summer, but "it rains 9 months of the year in Seattle"), on a slope, getting morning sun only. I water occasionally and sometimes it gets quite dry. Chequers does very well, has spread to 4 feet across, does not seem to seed about ever here. It blooms for a long time in the summer, and for me the leaves are evergreen. They never seem to wilt. I whack it off in the spring or it looks ratty. At the time I got it Bluestone Perennials said it tolerated dry conditions well, and it has. 'Orchid Frost looks pretty too.
Sorry to be next in line with lamium news. If you want it where it can go crazy like violas or ivey then go for it.
I personally am very sorry I planted it.
The only variety that didnt take over my gardens was Golden Anniversery.
Anyone want to throw stones at Creeping Jenny?
I believe it alldepends on the "look" you want for your garden.I like the undergrowth look but the lamiums were out of controle after 4years.I had
maculatum and orchid frost as well as white nancy.
The maculatum went nuts.I do have it in a container where it will behave.
Quite by accident I just found this item - scroll down to lamium:
http://www.flowershopnetwork.com/blog/category/weed-identification/
Thats a neat site.
I liked that site, too. Some of my neighbors' untended yards have a nice purple hue now due to the lamium flowers. My wife, on a recent walk, asked if we might want some of that. I explained that, yes, we can and do. I pull it frequently. At least it is not a difficult weed to pull.
It's trickier for me, I guess. I pull and get some roots, not all. So I have to dig anyhow and get the roots. I just did a lot more of it yesterday at the "real feel" of 23 degrees. The tiniest of babies are now showing here.
I never pull weeds with gloves on. I don't think I'd be able to pull much of anything at 23 degrees even with gloves. I'm in awe of your hardiness. At 23 degrees I can't imagine anything would pull without digging.
Whew, wipe the sweat off my brow! At a "real feel" of 30 I just finished four hours today with the major jobs in the asparagus field and around the shed. The soil was surprisingly soft and I did not take any chances but dug out all weeds. I really will not complain if it snows and sticks. My back needs a good rest.
More baby lamiums today. They do grow fast.
Funny, I have a couple Lamiums that onlysurvive each year. 'Beacon Silver' does better than 'Shell Pink' (which is eaten by insects every spring), but I still have only a tiny patch where I planted each. I keep thinking I should trade them for something else =) Maybe I shouldn't complain about well-behaved groundcover in my hosta beds!
I purchased 2 types of variegated Lamium a few years ago from Bluestone Perennials - 'Silver Beacon' and 'Purple Dragon'. The 'Silver Beacon' died and was replaced by Bluestone, but it died the second time too. The 'Purple Dragon' thrived and, now in it's 3rd year, is spreading like crazy.
It's extremely attractive with its silver, white and green leaves and violet-purple blooms, but I'll probably have to remove it eventually and try it in an area where I don't care if it spreads as it's starting to crowd some other plants. Since I've never tried to remove it before I can't say how difficult it will be, but I do have mixed feelings as I love the look and it brightens the area, even when it's not blooming.
1) Lamium 'Purple Dragon' showing leaf & bloom colors.
2) This pic is just to give an idea how it has surrounded some plants.
If you like lamium, Herman's Pride stays under control for me. I can't say the same for Beacon Silver or Purple Nancy. Herman's Pride does very well in dry shade, too.
Thanks for this info I6blue. I am glad to hear that it does well for you in dry shade as these are the exact same conditions under which I planted two of the same variety last week.
Can you tell me the dimensions of any of your HPride; specifically how tall?
You're welcome, rouge. The ones I planted about four years ago are now about six inches tall, and the clumps have spread to about eight inches across.
I was given lamium years ago and told it spreads fast. To contain it partially, I planted some around a tree encased by rocks and it has thrived but did not spread into the grass. The type I was given has yellow flowers. I also planted some in a corner off my deck between the stairs and house....along with hostas and it filled in very nicely but I can't say it's been invasive for me.....Backyard is very shaded and it really looks lovely
This message was edited Sep 1, 2014 1:05 PM
This message was edited Sep 1, 2014 1:06 PM
I adore Lamium. And by taking cuttings throughout the growing season, allowing them to root, then planting them, helps fill in those empty spaces each year. They grow very well here once established.
I hate auto correct! Sorry for what seem to be typos in my post....labrum was supposed to be LAMIUM!
valal -- for what it is worth, you can edit your original post -- to the left of your original post is a screen with your name and the pretty pink lily you picked -- "edit" should be one of the options under the date and time of your original post -- just select "edit" and you can edit out the typos. (That being said, the "edit" feature has been a bit funky of late.)
THANK YOU Happy! I didn't realize that....just fixed it
np!
I have Lamium "Shell Pink" and I really like it. Does it spread? You bet! Is it hard to pull out? Not really. It's no harder to pull out something that grows too well than it is to try to baby something that is not really vigorous . The fact that it thrives in any condition I put it in (yes, dry shade as well) and blooms from the beginning of the season until the bitter end makes it more than worthy of a place in my garden. Of course, it likes to take two places but I can handle that.
Here is spring in my shade garden. Pretty special thanks to "Shell Pink".
Yep, pretty and special.
It really is beautiful......might have to get myself some with purple flowers! The yellow is nice too, tho..
Rtreets....beautiful garden.....lovely bleeding hearts too!