The Purple Flowering Ground Cover That Thrives In Sun Or Shade

Ground covers are dense, ground-hugging plants that serve many practical purposes, such as erosion control and weed suppression. Crucially, ground covers carpet parts of your yard with an elaborate, verdant, living blanket that provides visual interest and blends with other ornamentals into a cohesive landscape. The trouble with ground cover plants is that they're usually split between two distinct camps — some love the sun, while others thrive in shady conditions. If your property's sun exposure isn't uniform, this may pose a challenge with ground covers, as you won't be able to satisfy a species' lighting preference throughout the property. But what if there was a ground cover that defied these norms? Imagine you had a purple-blooming ground cover that spans wide swathes of your property, from its shadiest corners to open to its sunny spots, and tolerates a wide range of soil conditions to boot!

We're talking about 'Purple Dragon' creeping lamium (Lamium maculatum 'Purple Dragon,'). This herbaceous perennial is native to Europe, but thrives in USDA zones 3 to 8. In milder regions, it can remain evergreen, providing visual interest year-round. 'Purple Dragon' produces delicate purple blooms from spring to fall, and the inflorescence is known to attract pollinators. Meanwhile, the plant's elaborate foliage features toothed, hairy leaves with an ornate white pattern on the top. Since this plant adapts well to different lighting conditions, you can grow it either in the shade or the sun, or, really, anywhere you like on your property. 

You can plant 'Purple Dragon' lamium anywhere as ground cover, but also along slopes, in flower beds, as borders, and as underplantings for bushes and shrubs. It will grow in both shade or sun, although it does prefer the former — particularly on hot summer afternoons. The ideal growing medium is rich in humus and consistently moist, but 'Purple Dragon' will tolerate almost any soil that drains well and isn't overly compacted. If the intended growing spot is compacted due to traffic, you'll have to prep the soil for successful planting by aerating it first.

Once planted, this deadnettle cultivar is easy enough to maintain. All you have to do is keep the soil moist. However, you mustn't saturate it with water during the colder months — doing so could injure the plant. 'Purple Dragon' should spread quickly on its own, although it is not invasive. However, if you wish, you can trim the plants back if you want to accelerate the spread and keep the plant growing as vigorously as possible.

The 'Purple Dragon' lamium usually self-seeds (although the resulting seedlings may not be true to the parent). In theory, it's possible to propagate these plants through root division or by taking cuttings from non-flowering stems. However, since the 'Purple Dragon' is a trademarked cultivar of deadnettle, you must get a license before attempting to propagate the plant — doing so without a license is against the law.