Are there any fans of Urtica out there? I’ve got about 6-8 species growing right now and would love to find a variegated one. Anyone here growing one intentionally or unintentionally?
2 Likes
I can’t help with variegation unfortunately. I love nettles too and have been on the lookout for variants that burn less (I seem to be a bit more sensitive than others or just don’t seem to habituate much). I know subspecies galeopsifolia, gracilis, sondenii and the variant holoserica supposedly burn less. I probably got this from Stephen Barstow, who’s a nettle lover too.
1 Like
Here’s a fun one that I grow, Urtica cannabina/ Hemp Leafed Nettle. A good source for unique species of Urtica is from Wojciech Szymanski in Poland. Stephen Barstow is a great source as well.
It’s beautiful. Any favorite Urtica for edibility? I assume U. dioica is hard to beat. Easily one of the best spring greens as far as taste and consistency in my mind.
Yea, I just stick with the dioica or gracilis when eating, mostly because its wild all over my area. My other species I usually just trim them back to keep them from cross pollinating each other. I keep a bucket next to the plantings and let the rain water fill them up after they’re full of nettle trimmings. Makes great fertilizer. Here’s gracilis just hanging out along the sidewalk in a different part of my town…
1 Like