Self-heal Seeds (Prunella vulgaris)

Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris) is a low, creeping native perennial that grows 20 to 30cm tall. It has small oval leaves in opposite pairs on square stems and carries short, dense spikes of hooded violet-purple flowers, set among maroon-tinged bracts, from June to September. In the wild it is found in grassland, lawns, woodland rides and clearings across Britain.

The flowers are worked by bumblebees, honeybees and butterflies through mid and late summer, and the plant tolerates close cutting and trampling better than most wildflowers, which makes it a useful mid-layer in a meadow or a flower-rich lawn. It is a long-lived perennial that spreads slowly by runners and also self-seeds readily, filling gaps without becoming a nuisance.

Self-heal is adaptable and undemanding. It prefers moist but well-drained soil and grows in full sun or partial shade, so it suits a garden meadow, an orchard floor, a shaded verge or a woodland edge. It is one of the few meadow species that will hold on in a regularly mown lawn if the cut is raised a little in summer. Avoid very dry, thin soils where it may struggle.

Sow in autumn or spring onto bare or scarified ground, surface-sown and firmed in. It establishes quickly and often flowers in its first full season. Cut or graze after it has set seed in late summer, removing the cuttings, and it will persist and spread. Combine with our 100% wildflower mixes or single species that share the same moist, sunny or lightly shaded conditions.