We planted lamium under our deck. We call it The battle of three Armies! As we had lamium, sweet woodruff and periwinkle all in the same bed to see what would cover the most and keep weeds out.

An odd thing is happening.

First - periwinkle is losing. Had a very very bad winter 2 years ago with sub -30+ for like a month. Didn't like it.

However - when the lamium entered the sweet woodruff territory it's flowers all of a sudden changed colors! From violet to white, the same shade as the sweet woodruff. Or maybe this is this typical of lamium? Will the lamium enter the very very dark regions the woodruff currently control?

Doesn't look as if you ever got a response to this, but I have noticed in a couple of spots where I have one stalk of darker flowers on my plants this spring. This is Lamium maculatum "Shell Pink," and normally the flowers are just that - but I now see two places where the stalk's flowers have a color I would call fuschia. I wonder if this is due to cross-pollination with someone else's lamium in a darker shade. At any rate, it adds some interest!

I planted these several years ago for erosion control in my front landscaping in a partially shaded Zone 5 spot. They have worked out beautifully. I would call it an "assertive" plant. It grows fast, but can be kept in check by cutting or pulling runners once or twice a year. It does its job very nicely but doesn't want to grow under the drip line of the eaves of my house. Yours looks fantastic!

That was actually our answer. Amazing ground cover that keeps on giving.

Grinder12000 said:That was actually our answer. Amazing ground cover that keeps on giving.

Oooh! So pretty! I need ground cover badly...I wonder if this would grow in Ga7b?

From what I can see, it'll go as low as Zone 3 and as high as Zone 10. Pretty tough plant! Give it a shot!

I have several varieties of lamium and I notice the colors keep changing. Do they cross breed or what? BTW, what's with all the ads in this thread?

caitlinsgarden said:I have several varieties of lamium and I notice the colors keep changing. Do they cross breed or what? BTW, what's with all the ads in this thread?

We only had one variety but now have 2 different colors. And the Lamium is seeding all over the place (not a bad thing)

wow, old thread bump!

@caitlinsgarden, ads pay for the site, it's not just here on this thread. Once you reach 100 contributions to the database in the form of photos, plant details or comments, you have to option to turn off the ads. Your profile says you have 13 so far.

Grinder12000 said: We planted lamium under our deck. We call it The battle of three Armies! As we had lamium, sweet woodruff and periwinkle all in the same bed to see what would cover the most and keep weeds out.

An odd thing is happening.

First - periwinkle is losing. Had a very very bad winter 2 years ago with sub -30+ for like a month. Didn't like it.

However - when the lamium entered the sweet woodruff territory it's flowers all of a sudden changed colors! From violet to white, the same shade as the sweet woodruff. Or maybe this is this typical of lamium? Will the lamium enter the very very dark regions the woodruff currently control?

I have noticed that the flowers of my lamium change colors freely! I have trouble finding white flowers on white nancy. This year they are mostly red violet. I have various lamium and I think the new colors are from bees pollinating and new seedlings. which may be more vigorous than the original. Any thoughts?

FYI, thread originated in 2015.