Common Name: self heal
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Lamiaceae
Native Range: Europe
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 2.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to August
Bloom Description: Purple
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Ground Cover, Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Butterflies
Culture
Winter hardy to USDA Zone 4-8 where it may be grown in a variety of moist but well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Prefers organically rich soils. Plantings should be kept consistently moist in summer. For large groundcover plots, plants may be mowed after bloom on a high mower setting for purposes of not only deadheading the flowers but also helping to maintain the structural integrity and appearance of the planting. Propagate by division, cuttings or seed.
Cultivars often do not come true from seed, however, so deadheading spent cultivar flowers may be necessary in order to prevent unwanted self-seeding.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Prunella grandiflora, commonly known as large-flowered self-heal, is a sprawling, low-growing, mat-forming, semi-evergreen perennial of the mint family that typically grows to 6-12” tall, but spreads by stolons and rhizomes to 18-36” wide. It is native to meadows and woodlands in Europe. Ovate to lanceolate, deep green leaves (4” long) with sparsely toothed margins grow in basal tufts. Tubular, 2-lipped, purple flowers (to 1” long) bloom in summer in terminal flower spikes (to 2-3” long) located atop square, opposite-leaved flowering stems rising to 12” tall.
This species has a history of use both as a medicinal herb (treatment of a large number of medical ailments including throat inflammations and quinsy) and as a culinary herb (raw, cooked or dried leaves were added to soups, salads or stews).
Genus name was used by 15th and 16th century German herbalists.
Specific epithet means large-flowered.
Common name of self-heal is in reference to one-time medicinal uses for this plant.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Powdery mildew, leaf spot and blight occasionally appear.
Uses
Ground cover, edger, specimen or accent for rock gardens, border fronts, cottage gardens or wild gardens. Perhaps too aggressive to plant near choice rock garden plants.