PlantFiles: Deadnettle, Yellow Archangel
Lamium galeobdolon 'Hermann's Pride'

After reading all the negative comments from the Pacific NW, I felt the need to comment on my experience with 'Hermann's Pride" Lamium here in Zone 5. This little beauty has been a polite showcase in now 3 of my full sun perennial beds for 13 years. It forms wonderful variegated mounds topped with spikes of yellow flowers much earlier than most, which is a boon to hungry bumble bees!

Visitors often admire this groundcover with its variegated foliage and yellow upright blooms. However, I have found it very invasive and it's hard to get rid of when it spreads where you don't want it. It crowds out more desirable plants. I'm a fan of native plants so I'm sorry I ever planted Lamium.

A good shade plant with interesting foliage for dry areas. Not as invasive as some forms of Lamium. In fact, in my experience, it stays in a nice clump. Blooms in May-June in my garden.

Hermann's Pride cultivar, like many hybrids, is not as hardy and thus not as invasive as the wild parent, common 'yellow archangel.'

This plant has very beautiful highly variegated foliage and a surprisingly large, clear yellow flower. This variety is more upright than trailing. The best qualities of this cultivar - the variegation and upright habit - are obtained with heat and sun, very unusual for a lamium. Good for streetscaping.

This plant is my nemesis. I have been hand pulling for 2 years as it is crawling all over my other plants and killing them. I have lost a couple of beautiful azaleas. I have only removed it from 2 small areas and have no idea how I am going to get rid of the 1/2 acre of it moving into the forest. I may just have to keep it to the back of our property. That means I will have to deal with it for the rest of my life to keep it out of the front portion of my property. The previous owner was a landscaper and planted it. It may be beautiful, but it is not worth it. I constantly have to watch for new shoots where I have pulled it and I hear that chemicals don't even stop it. AAUUGGHH!

This is a new problem invasive in Western Washington. It readily "escapes" gardens are grows unfettered, rooting in from stem fragments and it also self-seeds. I expect that this will become a more problematic invastive in the years ahead around here. It develops very dense root bundles as it spreads, can tolerate deep shade and dry conditions--a combination very few plants can manage. I have seen this plant spread in large swaths in forested areas where it can undergrow the likes of salal (Gaultheria shallon) without problem. It can clearly out compete native plants here and offers nothing for indigenous wildlife. It is suseptible to chemical control. Manual removal is challenging given the need for complete eradication and the dense roots. I have also used thermal control in open areas--one wears this plant down rather than wipes it out. I would be EXTREMELY careful about introducing this plant into a garden, especially in a temperate climate. There are to many great plants to mess with risks like this one.

It is a truly beautiful plant, but I understand that it is an aggressive invasive and easily escaped into the wild. On a recent hike to Scott's Run park near Washington, D.C., my husband and I observed it covering the understory of this beautiful hardwood forest. While it was quite pretty, it was displacing the native blue cohosh, cutleaf toothwort, spring beauties, maiden-hair ferns, and many others. As fellow plant lovers, I'm sure you'd hate to see this plant take over your forests as well. I think that Washington state or some counties there have placed Lamiastrum on their noxious plant lists. Please don't encourage widespread landscape use of this plant. All non-native species should be carefully investigated for invasive potential before placing them on such a website. Thank you for your consideration and conservation of our natural heritage.

Zone 4a. Morning & late afternoon sun. Mostly shade middle of the day. Foliage is striking, especially with purple type coral bells. Unusual flowers. Have heard it can be invasive but I have not found this to be so yet (only 2nd season).

makes a great shade plant. when in sun the whitish tint seems to fade from the leaves but in a shady area it has nice foliage. very hardy in zone 5.

I haven't grown this plant, but I noticed this morning that it listed as a noxious weed in Washington State.

I love this plant almost as much as the bumble-bees do! I think it was the very first plant in my garden. It looks very nice next to my lupine plants (the ones with purple and yellow bi-colored flowers; I forget the cultivar). I almost never have to water it. Pest free and always looks good, even when not in flower. I'd recommend this plant to anyone.

Nice clump, over wintered well, and looks nice. Not as much silver on the leaves as last year, perhaps it's because of not a lot of sun, had lots of rain lately. Growing in Zone 4b, morning sun only.

Unlike the regular Yellow Archangel, 'Hermann's Pride' is clump-forming rather than spreading or trailing. Wonderful bold variegation on sharply pointed leaves and nice yellow flowers in mid spring. Nice contrast, nice form, and handles even dry shade with grace.

I purchased my Hermann's Pride from a local nursery about three years ago, and it winters over faithfully every year. It's a wonderful bit of contrast to the other foliage in my bed, and they yellow blooms are quite unusual.