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lisaann68_gw

Lamium dying?

lisaann68
18 years ago

In the northwest corner of my front yard, around a Viburnum, I have several varieties of Lamium planted (Pink Pewter, Anne Greenway and Elizabeth de Haas). We planted these in spring and they were perfect until a few weeks ago. Now they look like they're dying. The top foliage is OK but underneath it's brown, wilted, and scraggly. In the southwest corner of my back yard, the Lamium (Golden Anniversary) under our lilacs looks even worse.

We have had a very hot, dry summer here. Could it be the drought affecting their appearance or maybe overwatering (with the hose)? Or, is it normal for Lamium to look lousy in late summer? Any idea if it will come back in spring?

Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Comments (5)

  • bogturtle
    18 years ago

    I would like to see what is posted for you by members. I only have L. 'White Nancy' and another with netted leaves and yellow flowers. The name escapes me. They always look bad this time of year and renew as cool weather comes on. In this zone, they are almost evergreen and look fine again at blooming time. I often have thought I was losing them.

  • Lisa_Michelle
    18 years ago

    I just noticed that one of my lamium plants has disappeared. I do think they go dormant in the dry weather. I don't know the name of the cultivar, but this one gets white flowers. The plants that I have that have variegated leaves and produce yellow flowers are faring much better. If I plant any more in the future, it will definitely be those. I think I'll keep lightly watering the plants with everything else and hope they return in the spring.
    I know it's going to be a gorgeous week, but I'd trade some of it for a soaking rain.

  • Ina Plassa_travis
    18 years ago

    hmm- sounds like their normal growth pattern, to me-

    the grow until they flop over, then keep putting out new growth, while the older parts of the stem get ratty looking.

    I usually mulch right over the bare stems in late july, to help them put out roots, which gives them more places to spread from in the spring.

    the one with the yellow flowers may be gold beacon- but if the leaves are larger than the other lamiums, and it's pretty aggressive- it's not lamium, it's FALSE lamium, also known as yellow archangel (it's also sometimes called goutweed. of course, what other people call goutweed, I call snow on the mountain)

  • bogturtle
    18 years ago

    I recall the one with netted leaves and yellow flowers as being 'Herman's Pride'. It does not melt away like the others, when the weather turns hot, if it has mostly shade. It gives a neat, uniform appearance and does not seem to flop over as much as 'White Nancy' but, if I recall correctly,it does died down in winter and Lamium 'White Nancy'seems to stay around.

  • Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
    18 years ago

    If you have a large patch of Lamium, this won't work, but my 'Pink Pewter' and 'Red Nancy' are both still pretty small, so as individual stems finish blooming, I go through and cut them off all the way back to the crown. This keeps all the ratty foliage snipped off and causes it to keep producing fresh, new foliage, and my 'Pink Pewter' has bloomed repeatedly over the summer---it's in full bloom again now.

    If you want to try this and they look bad all over, I recommend you start by cutting off about half of the foliage/stems first and wait until you see obvious new growth starting, then cut the rest back. By doing this, you should get some nice new foliage before winter so they'll look good all winter.

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