In this article, you’ll learn how to find Self-Heal in the wild, and how to grow it in your own garden.
Friends, let me tell you - if you see the purple wildflower Prunella vulgaris growing in your yard, you truly have an incredible plant in your midst.
I personally delight in seeing this medicinal plant crop up in different areas of my yard as the seasons transition into summer.
If you don’t have it in your yard, don’t worry - you can order seeds to grow it yourself.
It’s a short plant - maybe 6-10 inches or so. It will get taller if it needs to stretch a bit to get some sunshine, though.
Its blooms are purple and tubular, and surround a spiked head. Some of the bottom petals will be delicately fringed (MN Wildflowers). Note that there is a white variety out there - Prunella laciniata - literally milky (NPT).
Its stems are square with leaves opposite each other. The shape of the leaves can range from oval to lanceolate, smooth to serrated (Frontiers Pharmacology).
It forms in clusters - usually you don’t find just one singular Self-Heal plant all alone. In my yard, it sticks to areas in between dense tree-zones and meadow, where it gets a nice and balanced amount of sun and shade.
Walter S. WIlson from the University of Washington has a lovely list of plants that are usually found in close proximity to Self Heal. I’ll put a star next to the neighbors of Self Heal that I’ve seen personally.
Butterflies
A range of butterflies and skippers enjoy the nectar of Self Heal. Specifically, it’s a larval host to the Clouded sulphur butterfly (Lady Bird Johnson Center)
Nectar Source for Bees and Beneficial Insects
Bees flock to Self-Heal blooms throughout the summer. You’ll see Miner Bees, Sweat Bees, Bumblebees, Honeybees, and Mason Bees feeding on Self-Heal.
You’ll also find beneficial hoverflies, flower flies, and parasitic flies on this purple wildflower (Prairie Pollination).
Ground cover + meadows
Sparrowhawk Native Plants speak to the powers of this plant as a ground cover and its suitability for meadow lawns. It can be stepped on (I've seen it be fine with light human, goat, and dog foot traffic) without much ill effect if it's out of main pathways. If the area is mowed infrequently, it will usually grow back quickly. Sparrowhawk Plants does recommend minimizing mowing the plant during its bloom season to support wildlife.
Since Self-Heal and Purple Dead Nettle are both low growing purple wildflowers in the mint family, it can be easy to mistake one for the other when you’re first getting started with identification.
I've also included Ajuga/Bugleweed in these photos too, because its spiky nature could lead one to mistake it for Self-Heal.
Self Heal is quite adaptable and needs no supplemental watering during my extremely dry summers. As a native wildflower, that isn’t all too surprising. That said, it can also grow in wet conditions, in varying degrees of sunlight, and even variable pH levels (NCSU).
The only mention I found of soils it doesn’t like are thought that are high in calcium, like in areas with limestone or chalk rock (UADA).
1.Obtain Seeds:
2. Cold Stratify: Self Heal benefits from cold stratification.
3. Germination time: Up to 3 weeks (everwilde).
4. Other methods of propagation: University of Washington also recommends division and stool layering as a means of propagation. This is helpful if you already have the plant growing to expand its population.
If you are looking for guild ideas with self-heal, University of Washington has a list of plants that Self-Heal is often found near. Plant Self Heal with food plants strawberries, serviceberries, salal, or the lovely creambush pollinator plant.
Water:
Sun:
Blooms:
The flowers and stems have traditionally been worked with as a dye - they turn into a deep olive green color. The leaves are naturally high in tannins, which help with the dying process (NCSU).
When seedlings are young, the leaves can be eaten in salads or added to stirfries.
A commonly seen recommendation (for example, from various Materia Medica from China as early as 960 CE) is to soak and rinse the leaves before eating to remove bitter tannins.
Phytochemicals are chemicals that the plant produces in order to keep the plant healthy and fight off illness.
Interestingly, these same phytochemicals can help animals, too. Like people. They have the capability to support our bodies on a cellular level.
Namely, phytochemicals act as antioxidants, clearing out free radicals which can cause disease.
A common example of a phytochemical is beta-carotene (UCLA).
Prunella vulgaris has been analyzed for its phytochemicals, and in turn, has been valued for its contents.
Self-heal contains:
Prunella vulgaris is one of my favorite native plants in the landscape. And for good reason - it’s not just a pretty plant, but it has so many ecological benefits. As a native plant, it’s a good choice to add to your sustainable habitat to support wildlife. Add Self-Heal to your garden and be delighted by its vibrant purple textured blooms, and you’ll be rewarded with plenty of bees and butterflies too.
Since Self-Heal isn’t fussy - in fact, I do little to maintain it in my yard. It’s a great resilient plant for permaculture gardeners or those looking for a wildflower lawn that needs little attention to thrive.
I definitely encourage you to grow this plant if it hasn’t already made its home in your yard. If you’re looking to grow more native plants in your backyard, let Prunella vulgaris be one you try out!
