 wrap it in an airtight plastic wrap until you’re ready to use it.
Poultice for Insect Bites or Small Wounds
If you’re out in the yard or garden and you get bit by an insect like a mosquito and it starts to itch, dead nettle can help. All you have to do is chew up leaves of certain plants and apply them as a poultice to ease the itching, sting, or slow the bleeding. Plantain leaves are very commonly used as a green weed that’s great for this, as is yarrow. You can add purple dead nettle to this list. All you have to do is grab a few leaves, chew them, and apply the leaf pulp to the area.
Stinging nettle is used to prepare people for seasonal allergies. Purple dead nettle isn’t the same as stinging nettle, but it’s commonly used to help alleviate your allergy symptoms. One way to use this dead nettle is to make a tea, but a tincture has a much shorter storage life. To make it, you’ll combine ¼ cup of dried nettle leaves with ½ of a cup of high-proof vodka. Shake it well and store it in a cupboard for a few weeks before you strain it, and make sure it’s out of direct light in a dry, cool area.
You should only need a few drops of this tincture at a time to help with allergies and inflammation, and you can combine it with local raw honey to make it easier to take. If you have medical issues, or you’re nursing or pregnant, you should check with your doctor before you use it.
Tinctures have a long history or use, and you can use them for everything from helping with inflammation to alleviating allergy symptoms.
Dead Nettle Pests and Diseases
This plant is usually pretty low maintenance, but snails and slugs can bother it as they thrive in the shaded, moist growing conditions. Let the soil dry out between watering sessions to discourage them from coming around.
Edema and Drowning
The most common disease gardeners run into with dead nettles is edema and drowning. This is caused by poorly draining soils and too much water. You can improve heavy clay-based soils with manure, compost, and peat moss before you plant your dead nettle. If the soil is extremely heavy, you should consider replacing it with commercial garden soil. Water the soil so it says slightly moist but not saturated.
Leaf spot is a fungal disease that can spread using rain or wind, and this makes it much more likely to develop during humid and hot conditions. Brown or yellow brown spots will appear on the leaves first before slowly starting to expand, and then black spots will quickly follow. Remove the infected leaves and spray the plant with a fungicide. Plant your dead nettle in a well-ventilated place with partial shade, and space the planets slightly farther apart than six inches. Make sure you prune them regularly, especially before the winter months.
This is a fungal disease that is very common during the wet, warm season. When it comes on your plants, you’ll see a white powder on the stems and leaves. You should remove and burn any infected parts of the plant as soon as you notice this coating. If it’s severe, you’ll need to spray with a fungicide, and pruning between the plants can encourage air circulation to make it less likely this disease will occur.
Reasons Dead Nettle Leaves Turns Yellow
There are several reasons why your dead nettle leaves can turn yellow, but the most popular ones include:
- Infections – Diseases and pests can cause withering and yellowing leaves. You should look at the plant to figure out which disease or pest is causing it and spray it with the correct chemicals to treat it.
- Insufficient Water – Most dead nettles need a moist growing environment, and the leaves will turn yellow from not enough water. Water the plant when the soil dries out, or consider misting the leaves to help increase the relative humidity.
- Over Watering or Over Fertilizing – Both of these things can lead to root rot, and this causes your dead nettle to not absorb nutrients correctly, and this can lead to leaf yellowing. You can cut off the rotten roots and disinfect the remaining roots before replanting.
- Too Much Sun – This plant prefers shade, and too 