Urtica dioica
When I first started gardening , I absolutely hated sting nettle . I was survive at a property with a immense patch of it growing straight across the path from my vegetable garden , and those nettles did n’t like to delay put !
Frequently , I would be out peacefully weed my beds and daydream – until I was jar back to dry land by an unexpected sting , the effects of which could last for hours .
I just could not understand why anyone want this plant around .
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And so I depart learning . I just call for to get it on why my landlord insisted so powerfully on maintaining that pesky nettle maculation .
The more I researched , the more I began to change my air on nettle .
I learned , for instance , that it is one of the most nutritious - rich aboriginal herbs known . It is safe for almost everyone , has a plethora of uses , and is really quite delicious .
I am now a terminated convert . In fact , it might just be my favored herb yet !
Will it become one of yours ? There ’s one way to find out ! have ’s learn more .
Here ’s what ’s to come in this clause :
What You’ll Learn
Quick Look
Propagation
How to Grow
Maintenance
Pests and Disease
harvest home
This versatile eatable and medicative herb is not often cultivated , but foraging it from the wilderness is certainly not your only choice . Here ’s how – and why – you should grow it at home .
Common name(s):Stinging Nettles
Plant type : Herbaceous perennial
Hardiness ( USDA Zone):3 - 10
Native to : Europe , Asia , North Africa
time of year : springtime and fall
Exposure : Full Sunday , fond shadowiness
Soil type : Average to rich , moist
territory pH:5 - 8 , acidic to alkaline
clock time to maturity:80 - 90 days
Spacing : 8 inches
Planting depth : Surface
Mature size:1 - 5 invertebrate foot panoptic x 2 - 4 feet eminent
piss need : Moderate
Taxonomy
Order : Rosales
Family : Urticaceae
Genus : Urtica
specie : dioica
Nettle , Urtica dioica , is an herbaceous perennial in the Urticaceae kinsfolk that is often discover growing gaga in the understory of riparian zones , on the edges of meadows , in open forests , or in disturbed land near pasture .
It has toothed opposite leaves along the shank , which are almost heart shaped , and very small efflorescence . It can grow from two to four feet grandiloquent at maturity . It spreads by vigorous creeping rootstalk , and often forms dull clusters .
Nettle plant life are dioecious , which means they only produce either male or female flowers , not both . Perhaps this is why they were given the Latin namedioica , which intend “ two house . ”
Males have a stringier , stocky cluster of flowers that run to point outward . female can be name by dense , operose flower clusters that may look like they are pulling the plant down .
Males and female grow conterminous to each other , and the flower are usually wind pollinated .
Perhaps the most infamous identifying characteristic is the tiny stinging hairs , which can be found under the leave of absence and along the stems .
These are actually tiny hollow vacuum tube known as trichomes .
You may have had the misfortune of get the unpleasant sensation of unintentionally brushing up against a plant life , or pulling one up without gloves .
The legal action of disturb the hair breaks off the fragile silica tips , and the hair acts like a acerate leaf , injecting you with chemical substance .
What causes that burning superstar ?
Upon contact , the petite needle pierce the hide and free chemicals including acetylcholine , formic acid , histamine , and serotonin , which trigger inflammation and pain that can unluckily last for up to several hour .
aboriginal in many places around the worldly concern , this herb can be observe in north Africa , North America , Asia , and Europe . In some office of the US , stinging nettle is consider an invasive weed due to its power to self - seed and spread out through its beginning slew .
It has been grown , forage , and harvested for thousands of years . document accounts of its habit date as far back as 1200 BC , and its uses are widespread .
Nettle cloth was used by Europeans and Native Americans for linens and sailcloth as ahead of time as the sixteenth and seventeenth one C .
Today , it is still commonly used as a textile like to hemp or flax . Fibers can be dried , pounded , and twisted into rope or cloth . The finished Cartesian product can rove from all right and piano to duncical and rough .
In Germany it was used during the first half of the twentieth century , often combined with cotton wool to make undergarments , stockings , and fabric .
This valuable flora also has long been part of culinary and medicinal practices . In the US , there is a chronicle of Native American function in nutrient , medicine , clothing , and ceremonies .
Nettle is easy to grow and can easily be started by seed indoors , or divided from live temporary hookup .
you could incur packets of 500 seedsavailable from Outsidepride via Amazonto get start out .
Stinging Nettle Seeds
To prepare for planting , look for an area with rich soil and sufficient moisture . Nettle does especially well on the edge of meadows , eatage , or stream where the soil stays moist but is n’t waterlogged .
Selecting your web site with future spread in thinker is also advised . These are hearty perennials with a disposition to become encroaching , so choose wisely . If you are interested about spread , consider hold it to container .
Pick a place where you are sure that you want them , perhaps not forthwith next to your veggie patch !
From Seed
Seeds are very bantam and require light for sprouting .
In the spring , broadcast seeds and press them lightly into the soil or plow with a very flimsy level of soil , only about a stern of an inch at most . Plants can later on be thin to an inch aside .
From Seedlings or Transplants
Sow seed in flat in late winter . Seeds should germinate in approximately 14 day . Transplant outdoors in early outpouring , as soon as the ground can be worked . Space seedlings about eight inches aside .
Division
If you have a Quaker with a thriving patch , ask if you may comprehend up a couple of plant in tardy evenfall and replant them in your yard . They will spread chop-chop , once they become install .
Or , why not receive them in the forest ? Nettles can also be foraged easy , and they grow as a boney perennial all over the blank space .
If you could read to properly discover them – which is n’t unmanageable if you impact them , but swear on visual cues is preferred ! – you might realize that you already have some growing nearby that you may dig up and transfer to your garden .
instead , if you do find a mend growing fantastic , you’re able to garner the tiny seed in early downslope , once they have turn chocolate-brown .
Just throw off out a semen pass into a jolt or dish .
bite nettles are ruffianly , tenacious , and incredibly rewarding to acquire – assuming you give them a petty respect .
Once established , nettle will diffuse quick and return year after yr , making them an fantabulous choice for a recurrent patch in a leave out corner of the yard or a controlled raised bed if you want to contain their spread .
Here ’s what you need to know to grow your own patch of stinging nettles :
Light
Nettles will grow in both full Dominicus and partial wraith , but they really prosper in area with dappled or partial shade , peculiarly in hotter climate . In cooler zone , full sunlight is just fine .
If you ’re after lush , leafy growth for harvest home , a bit of specter during the hottest part of the day will help conserve that legal tender leafage and forbid bolting too promptly .
Soil
productive , loamy soil with plenty of constitutive matter is ideal . Stinging nettle love nitrogen , so grime that has been amended with compost or well - rotted manure is a good wager .
Drainage should be decent , but they will tolerate slightly heavier grease as long as it does n’t stay soggy .
These plants thrive will tolerate soil with a encompassing pH chain , anywhere from 5.0 to 8.0 .
Water
Nettles favour consistently moist territory , specially during their active growing season in spring and early summer .
If a spot is too dry , plant may struggle and will lack savor , and may potentially miss some of their potency as an herbal remedy .
Keep the territory moist throughout the spring until you are done harvesting , after which time the plant will usually take guardianship of themselves .
If you require , you’re able to contain some leaf mulch around the plant to help retain moisture during dry spells .
Fertilizer
Unless you ’re growing in poor or depleted territory , you likely wo n’t necessitate to fecundate . But if your nettles are looking pale or the increment is irksome , a N - rich fertilizer can give them a boost .
A side medical dressing of compost or a diluted fluid fish emulsion every few weeks in spring will brook vigorous leafy growth .
Overwintering
burn nettles die back to the ground in the winter , but they ’re stalwart in USDA Zones 3 to 10 . After the first rime , the aerial part will yellow and die , but the ascendent remain alive underground .
There ’s no demand to overlay or mulch the plant unless you ’re in a in particular cold , dry neighborhood with minimal C. P. Snow covering .
In former outpouring , rationalise back the dead ontogeny to make room for new shoot to emerge .
Nettles do n’t need much maintenance after harvest home time of year , as they are very hardy and propagate easily . Just harvest regularly to encourage unexampled growth , and keep an middle on them in case they start to distribute to areas where you do n’t require them to grow .
You may choose to cut off the top third to keep plants from becoming too magniloquent and toppling over .
After remove stalks , leave them to rot on the solid ground around plants . This will come back nutrients to the stain , and the add mulch stratum will help oneself retain wet in the springiness .
you could also cut off the florescence seed head when they form , which will advance a good crop next year , as less energy will be diverted to seed output . This may also help to cut spreading if you are implicated about the patch getting away from you .
Over the winter the leaf will die back and the plant will go sleeping , reemerging in spring .
Never mind occupy about pests and disease . Another welfare of growing bite nettle is that it actually can reduce the risk of pest infestation for surround crops .
This is because it attracts variousbeneficial insects , and several butterfly stroke species .
In a study byDavid James , associate prof of entomologyat Washington State University , from 2011 to 2013 researchers monitor beneficial louse populations inU. dioicapatches at three locations in the Yakima Valley .
Each class over the form of three years , they found 200 to 400 beneficial insects trapped in nettle plants at all three internet site .
Insects found included predatory bugs , predacious fly front , parasitic wasp , and aboriginal bee .
It was reason out that nettle could be a bully biological ascendence for managing insect pests , and was recommended for use in vineyard habitat restoration and pest management , as well as for butterfly conservation .
Harvesting nettles can sound intimidate , but with a few precautions in nous , you wo n’t get any trouble from the pesky needles .
Justbe sure to wear glove , recollective sleeve and pants , andclosed - toe brake shoe . impart a basketball hoop , pail , or paper bag , and a clean and knifelike span of pair of scissors .
For food and making herbal remedies , harvest the leaf when the prow looks gamy , before unfolding .
Once plants flower and start to count woody and hempen , leaves become stringy and ruffianly .
To harvest , cut back the top third of the industrial plant , just above a node where leaves branch off , which will promote new growth .
Be conscious about what you are doing . The needles are generally channelise downward , so work from the top of the plant downwards .
Much More than Just a Sting
Though seen by many as an irritating gage , nettle have been appreciated by forager for a longsighted time , and they are so much more than just a threat to be wary of .
When we take the meter to apprise their time value and instruct to plow them with charge , nettles are really an incredible herbaceous plant with so much to declare oneself us .
If this article has n’t quite won you over yet , I encourage you to taste some nettle afternoon tea for yourself . You may quickly be convinced , as I was , that this works is well worth the hassle of cultivation – and perhaps the very casual sting .
If you ’re interested in growingother medicinal herb , you ’ll postulate these pathfinder next :
© require the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . in the beginning issue April 21st , 2020 . Last updated : May 7th , 2025 . Product photos via Amazon and Outsidepride . Uncredited exposure : Shutterstock . With additional writing and redaction by Clare Groom and Allison Sidhu .
The staff at Gardener ’s Path are not medical professional and this article should not be construed as aesculapian advice intended to assess , diagnose , order , or assure therapeutic . Gardener ’s Path and inquire the Experts , LLC take over no liability for the use or abuse of the material present above . Always consult with a medical master before changing your dieting or using plant - found remedies or supplements for wellness and wellness .
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Heather Buckner
