Hedge woundwort

How to recognise it

Habit

Upright perennial 30–100 cm tall with creeping rhizomes; forms loose clumps.

Leaf

Opposite, heart-shaped and long-stalked, coarsely toothed and softly hairy. Smells unpleasant when crushed.

Flower

Dark wine-red to purplish red with white markings on the lower lip, 1.3–1.5 cm long, in whorls that together form a loose spike.

Stem

Square, sturdy and hairy, with glandular hairs near the top.

Fruit/Seed

Four small, dark nutlets in the calyx.

Confusion with

Common nettle has similar leaves, but stinging hairs and green, hanging flower tassels. Marsh woundwort has narrow, almost stalkless leaves and paler, pinkish-lilac flowers. White dead-nettle and yellow archangel have white or yellow flowers and do not smell unpleasant.

Flowering: June–August · Pruning: March

Why grow it?

• Nectar for bumblebees and other long-tongued bees from June to August, in shade where few other plants flower.
• Fills awkward, shady corners under shrubs and along hedges.
• A striking wine-red flower colour, lovely among ferns and other greenery.
• The stems stay standing in winter as shelter for insects.
• The English name woundwort recalls that the plant was once laid on wounds.

Hedge woundwort: where does it grow best?

• In the wild: broadleaved woods, woodland edges, woodland paths, wooded banks, hedgerows and shady rough ground.
• Partial shade to shade; in full sun only on moist soil.
• Moist soil rich in humus and nutrients: loam, clay or rich sandy soil.
• In the garden: under shrubs, along a hedge, on the north side of a shed or in a woodland edge.

Goes well with

• Garlic mustard: White flowers in April–May, in the same shady edge.
• Herb-Robert: Small pink flowers from May into autumn under the same shrubs.
• Yellow archangel: Yellow two-lipped flowers in spring; a ground cover for shade.
• Male fern: Green fronds as a calm backdrop for the wine-red spikes.

Hedge woundwort: when and how to plant it?

1. Buy plants from a native-plant nursery and plant them in March–April or September–October.
2. Space them 30–40 cm apart in humus-rich soil; mix in some leaf mould.
3. You can sow in autumn, outdoors in pots or where it is to grow: winter cold helps many wild plants to germinate.
4. Leave the pots outside over winter and keep them moist; the seedlings appear in spring.
5. Water during dry spells in the first year.
6. Never dig up plants from the wild.

Care

Water

Only during dry spells in the first year; after that only in a long drought on a sunny spot.

Feeding

Not needed. A thin layer of leaf mould in autumn is enough.

Spreading

Spreads by rhizomes. In spring, slice off what is too much.

Stems

Leave the spent stems standing in winter for insects and seed.

Self-seeding

It self-seeds moderately; seedlings are easy to move.

Tip: Not sure whether a young plant is a nettle or hedge woundwort? Crush a leaf, wearing gloves: if it smells unpleasant, it is hedge woundwort.

Pruning and mowing

Pruning months: March.

When: In March, before the new shoots appear.

How:

• Leave the stems standing all winter.
• Cut them down to just above the ground in March.
• If you like, leave a few stems 20–30 cm tall as shelter for insects.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Division

In March–April or October, divide the rhizomes with a spade and replant straight away.

Seed

Ripe in August–September. Sow outdoors in pots in autumn.

Hedge woundwort: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −30 °C.

• It dies back above ground; the rhizomes survive in the soil.
• The dead stems with their seed calyces stay standing and shelter insects.
• Fully hardy, to about −30 °C.

Diseases and pests

• Spreading: On rich, moist soil it spreads quickly. Slice off the edge every year.
• Smell: The leaves smell unpleasant when touched. Do not plant it next to a seat or a path where you brush past it all the time.
• Flopping: In deep shade or on very rich soil the stems become floppy. A slightly lighter spot helps.
• Aphids: Sometimes on the shoot tips. Let ladybirds and hoverflies deal with them.

Through the year

• March: Cut back the old stems. Plant or divide.
• April: New shoots appear.
• June: Flowering begins; bumblebees on the flowers.
• July: Full flower.
• August: Last flowers. The seed ripens.
• September: Collect seed and sow outdoors. Plant.
• October: Plant or divide. Leave the stems standing. Add a thin layer of leaf mould.
• December: Rest; the dead stems give insects shelter.

Did you know?

• Stachys is Greek for ‘ear of grain’, after the flower spike.
• Hedge woundwort sometimes crosses with marsh woundwort; the hybrid shows features of both and grows where the two occur together.
• The English name hedge woundwort refers to the hedges it grows in and to its former use on wounds.