Selfheal

Prunella vulgaris

Selfheal is a perennial for edging, groundcover, suited to full sun to partial shade and clay, loam, sandy soil or chalk, flowering Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.

Where to use it in a border

At around 25 cm, it sits best along the front edge, where a low, spreading habit reads best. Give it about 35 cm of room to spread, roughly 3 to the metre when planted in a drift. It is hardy across USDA zones 3a to 9a and rated H7 by the RHS, so check it suits your area before planting.

It appears in our lists of full sun, clay soil, sandy soil, chalk soil, pollinator-friendly plants.

Border Builder uses Selfheal's height, spread, soil, bloom months and companions to place it in a full border plan for your own conditions, on iPhone and iPad.

Flowering through the year

Worth knowing

• Its flowers are valued by bees and other pollinators.

Good companions

Plants that share its conditions and style, chosen to complement its place in the border:

• Aromatic Asterto edge in front
• Black-Eyed Susanto flower when it does not
• Blue Flag Irisfor height behind it
• Blue Mistflowerto edge in front
• Blue Sageto flower when it does not
• Brown-Eyed Susanto flower when it does not

Garden styles

Meadow Native Wildlife garden