t to overfeed this plant because this opens the door to disease issues and encourages excessive growth. Adding compost should be enough because dead nettle doesn’t need rich soil. Manure tea is another option if you can’t work the compost into the soil.
Fertilizers can give your plants a boost to encourage strong growth all season long.
Grow dead nettle in partial to full shade. They don’t need a lot of water when you grow them in full shade. In fact, this aspect along with the plant’s deer resistance, makes them a popular choice for anyone needing a low-maintenance landscaping option. They are one of the best shade perennials you can buy.
As a general rule, groundcovers do well with mulch only when you first plant them and before they spread out to cover the soil. Adding a thin layer of chopped leaves, shredded bark, wood chips, or organic material for young plants helps get them off to a strong start. Mulch will discourage the weeds, keep the soil cool and moist, and add nutrients as it decomposes.
Put your dead nettle in well-drained, acidic, and loamy soil to keep it happy and thriving. If you have a clay-based soil, you’ll want to mix compost in to increase the drainage and ward off diseases.
Temperature and Humidity
This plant has a broad humidity and temperature range that it’ll thrive in, but it doesn’t do very well in humid, wamr locations. It prefers cool and moist environments.
When you grow dead nettle in a shaded space, it won’t need a huge amount of water. In fact, natural rainfall can give it all of the water it needs. Since it’s a ground cover, it doesn’t need nearly as much water as grass will, and it makes it a solid choice for anyone who is looking for an addition to the low-maintenance garden.
But, if it hasn’t rained in a long time, you will need to water it. If you plant them in a sunnier location, it’ll need watering once a week to keep the soil moist. More frequent watering sessions are needed to give enough moisture, and it will keep the plant cool during the scorching summer heat. Lower humidity will lead to yellowing leaf edges. In winter, this plant grows very slowly and doesn’t require a lot of water, so you can cut back on how much you water. Keep the soil well-drained, especially during winter and rainy days as soggy soil can cause root rot.
Propagating Dead Nettle
If you want to multiply the number of dead nettle plants you have, there are several methods you can use. These methods include:
- Cuttings – Snip off a six-inch piece of the plant and strip off the lower leaves. Dip the bottom of each cutting in a rooting medium and put it in perlite or moist sand in a pot or cup. Cover the plant with a plastic bag and water it to keep it moist. Within a few weeks, your dead nettle plant will start to develop roots. At this point, you want to carefully replant it outside in another pot in a potting soil.
- Division – Gently dig up your dead nettle plant in the spring or fall before separating it. Replant your divisions at a minimum of six inches apart.
- Stem Layering – All you have to do is push a stem that is still attached to the mother plant down into the ground and cover it with soil until you only see a tip. The tip will grow into a new plant.
How to Dry Dead Nettle
We’re going to outline several things you can use dead nettle for, and many of them require that you dry the plant first. To dry dead nettle, you:
- When there is no dew or rain on the plants, gather it up
- Turn each piece upside down and tap or shake it against your hand. This will dislodge the ants inside of the plant.
- Bring the dead nettle inside and spread them out in a single layer over a paper towel or clean dish towel.
- Let them air dry for several days until they’re completely dry.
- You can also dehydrate them by putting them in your dehydrator at 95 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit for one to four hours.
Drying plants is one way to make them last longer, and it allows you to use them in a huge range of projects.
Uses for Dead Nettle
There are several uses for dead nettle plants, and this can help add to the reasons why y