deadnettle substitute

[aquafemme]

I went on vacation for 2 weeks and came home to 40% of my backyard filled with Purple Deadnettle. It doesn't look too bad actually but, from what I'm reading, it's an invasive weed. I'd like to pull it all out and replace it with some native ground cover. Any thoughts as to how I go about doing this? What plant to replace the nettle with? I'm

Comments

[nani_ka]

Not sure if you're close enough but Emery's Garden in Lynnwood has some really knowledgeable people, and they stock native plants.

http://www.emerysgarden.com/

Also, I can't remember where it was, but I think Washington State has a "native plants" directory, although its not organized nicely...

[aquafemme]

But this link makes it seem like the deadnettle isn't such a big deal. Do you think I should just control its borders and leave it as is? I'd prefer a garden of native species but with all moss/dandelions to contend with, maybe I have bigger fish to fry?

[cheekyassmonkey]

yeah, that paints quite a different picture. if you are serious about a lawn, it might get in the way, but otherwise, i'd let it be.

[blue_chicory]

I have that in my garden, it is easy to pull and a winter annual, for me it comes back each year and I pull it, if you had some dense salal or something there it would probably choke most of it out. I'd go pull it all now, though, just to keep the seed production down. It is invasive, but it pops up and then dies before summer, not a real big deal.

[aquafemme]

Very nice to hear from someone with some experience with this. Thanks a bunch!