groundcover
Spotted dead nettle 'Beacon Silver'
Lamium maculatum 'Beacon Silver'
Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.
Lamium maculatum 'Beacon Silver' is a fast-growing semi-evergreen groundcover for gardens in zones 3–8. It grows 6–9 in tall and 1.5–2 ft wide, so plant it 1.25 ft apart. Give it part shade to shade and average water. It flowers pink in May to July. In a FloraVista list it usually plays the edge role: a low plant that finishes the front edge. Deer usually leave it alone, and it is toxic to dogs and cats. Our rules leave it out of lists in Florida and the Gulf, Texas and the South-Central states and the Desert Southwest, where summer heat, humidity or mild winters hold it back even inside its zone range.
Facts from our plant table
- Botanical name
- Lamium maculatum 'Beacon Silver'
- Plant type
- Groundcover, semi evergreen
- Hardiness zones
- 3 to 8
- Sun
- Part shade (2–4 hours); Shade (under 2 hours)
- Water
- Medium
- Soil
- Tolerates dry shade once established.
- Mature size
- 6–9 in tall × 1.5–2 ft wide
- Spacing
- 1.25 ft apart (centre to centre)
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Bloom
- May–Jul · pink
- Roles in a bed
- Edge
- Styles
- cottage, classic
- Deer resistance
- High: deer rarely eat it
- Pets
- Toxic to dogs and cats. ASPCA has a dead nettle entry but its rating was not confirmed; marked toxic until reviewed.
- Native to
- Not native to the US (or a garden hybrid)
- Pot size and price
- quart pot, typically $7–$12 (easy to find)
- Plant in
- Spring or Fall
- First-year watering
- Water deeply once or twice a week through the first summer, more in heat; keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy. Established plants need water only in dry spells.
- Pruning
- Shear back by half in midsummer if it gets leggy.
Sources: Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder; state extension service fact sheets; ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list; Rutgers NJAES deer resistance ratings; state extension service; Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States; state noxious weed and invasive plant lists; US garden-centre and home-improvement retail listings (general knowledge, 2026 estimate). Not yet reviewed by a horticulturist.
Good companions
The plants our list engine most often puts in the same bed as Spotted dead nettle 'Beacon Silver', across the sun, zone, pet, deer and style combinations it fits.
- Hardy geranium 'Rozanne'Geranium 'Gerwat' (Rozanne)perennial · zones 5–8
- Siberian bugloss 'Jack Frost'Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost'perennial · zones 3–8
- Lenten roseHelleborus × hybridusperennial · zones 4–9
- Korean boxwood 'Wintergreen'Buxus sinica var. insularis 'Wintergreen'shrub · zones 4–9
- Japanese sedge 'Evergold'Carex oshimensis 'Evergold'ornamental grass · zones 5–9
- Bleeding heartLamprocapnos spectabilisperennial · zones 3–9
If you can't find it
Substitutes our engine offers for Spotted dead nettle 'Beacon Silver': same role in the bed, passing the same rules.
- Bugleweed 'Bronze Beauty'Ajuga reptans 'Bronze Beauty'zones 3–9 · flagged toxic to pets
- Japanese pachysandraPachysandra terminaliszones 4–8 · flagged toxic to pets
- Japanese sedge 'Evergold'Carex oshimensis 'Evergold'zones 5–9 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance'Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance'zones 5–9 · not flagged toxic to pets
How this page was made
This page was generated from this plant's record in FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules. The companions and substitutes come from the lists our rules engine composes. No named expert has reviewed this page.
Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.
Sources
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
- Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
- State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
- Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants