Annual
Urtica urens
Hgt 60+cm Flowers May to October
Wild flower/Herb Native British Burning Nettle A very under rated and useful plant for culinary, medicinal, dyestuff, fibre, oil and liquid plant food. The leaves have small hairs that sting causing irritation to the skin. The stinging is neutralised by either drying or cooking, they are then safe to use as an edible plant. This plant is an excellent attractor to wildlife. The sting can be relieved by rubbing the effected area with dock leaves. The plant was used in manufacturing cloth from as early as the Bronze age. Culinary the leaves are used young, being picked before June, cooked and can be used as a vegetable like spinach, and added to soups and stews. Young shoots are used to make nettle beer. A medicinal herb used for treating anaemia, bites, stings, burns and stemming internal bleeding, also used for scalp and hair problems. A green dye is obtained from the leaves and stems. Sow seed in a cold frame in spring just covering the seed. Position plants in nitrogen rich fertile soil in full sun.
1 gram Av 2,500 seeds

Sowing time for wildflowers is all year round with best results sowing either March to early May, or from August to September.