→ What is Self-Heal and why is it important?
‍Prunella vulgaris is an edible perennial with blossoms that can be made into tisanes and infusions. It’s a purple wildflower native to the United States and Canada, in addition to Europe and Asia. Self-Heal is a medicinal plant that grows in almost any condition, and after its first year needs no supplemental water, especially if it’s in part shade. Plus, it’s a great bee and butterfly food source!

In this article, you’ll learn how to find Self-Heal in the wild, and how to grow it in your own garden.

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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.

Identify Self-Heal: A Visual Guide

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).

Self-Heal in the Wild: Ecosystem Roles and How to Spot It

How to find Self Heal

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.

• Alder
• Cedar
• Cinquefoil
• Creambush/Oceanspray
• Douglas Fir*
• Grand Fir
• Maple*
• Oak
• Queen Anne’s Lace
• Salal
• Serviceberry*
• Snowberry*
• Wild grasses*
• Wild rose*
• Wild strawberry*
• Willow*

Ecosystem Benefits:

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.

Look-alikes: Distinguish Self Heal from other Purple Wildflowers

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.

Grow Self-Heal: Preferences and Propagation Methods

Self Heal Growing Preferences

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).

How to Grow Self Heal

1.Obtain Seeds:

• In the wild: Towards October, the Self Heal blooms will start to dry out. The purple flowers will be gone, and the seeds inside will rattle a bit. Store in a cool dry place.
• Online: Seeds are also for sale from Northwest Meadowscapes , Sparrowhawk Native Plants, and Everwilde Farms.

2. Cold Stratify: Self Heal benefits from cold stratification.

• Natural Cold Treatment Outdoors: You could sow the seeds in autumn and let them come up on their own in the springtime.
• Indoor Cold Stratification: You could carry out wet cold stratification inside for 2-4 weeks. To do this:
• Sow the seeds in seedling trays with moist soil, lightly cover seeds with soil.
• Put the seedling trays in your fridge for 2-4 weeks.
• Keep soil moist
• At the 2-4 week mark, remove from fridge and place under grow lights or in the sun.
• Watch them grow into seedlings before transplanting outdoors (KSU).

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.

Permaculture Guild with Prunella vulgaris:

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.

Self-Heal Care Tips

Water:

• Self-Heal will need consistent watering its first year to help it establish. If there is no rain, water 1-2x a week.
• During extended periods without rain, established Self Heal will gladly accept any supplementary water you can offer it.

Sun:

• If you live in zones 4-6, you can plant it in full sun to part shade.
• In zones 7+, I’d recommend finding an area that is partially shaded. The warmer summer temperatures can stress the plant.

Blooms:

• For a constant array of blooms, deadhead the flowers off the plant (everwilde). If you wish to harvest the blooms for tea, this is good information to know!

Prunella for the People

Dye plant

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).

Edible Greens

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 of this Medicinal Plant

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:

• Triterpenoids (anti-inflammatory, anti-viral)
• Flavonoids (anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory)
• Polysaccharides (anti-viral, anti-oxidant)

(Frontiers Pharmacology)

Self-Heal: an edible native plant that brings beauty, bees, and butterflies into your garden

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!