Common Nettle

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Other Names:
Stinging Nettle, Nettle, Tall Nettle
Latin Name:
Urtica Dioica
Size *

The Common Nettle or Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) is one of the Pacific Northwest's most nourishing wild greens — a tall, handsome spring perennial that, for all its fearsome sting, becomes a gentle, delicious, mineral-rich vegetable the moment it meets heat.2, 4

Edible & Medicinal Uses

Nettle is a genuine superfood: the young spring leaves are exceptionally high in protein, calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C. The one rule is simple — the leaves are covered in fine hairs that sting, but cooking or drying destroys the sting completely, leaving a rich, deep-green vegetable much like spinach. Harvest the tender tops with gloves, then steam, sauté, or simmer into soup; dried leaf makes a mineral-packed tea. Beyond the kitchen, the strong stem fibers are twisted into cordage, nets, and cloth.1, 3

Ornamental Qualities

More useful than showy, Nettle forms tall, upright stands of handsome, deeply toothed, opposite leaves, 2–6 ft high. Grown in a dedicated patch it's a productive edible and pollinator plant — and a vital one: it's a key larval host for several butterflies. Site it in a back corner or a managed bed of its own, away from paths.4

Environment & Culture

Ecology: Native across the Northern Hemisphere, including the Pacific Northwest, Nettle grows in rich, moist ground — streambanks, moist woods, meadows, and disturbed edges. It's a host plant for butterfly larvae and provides seeds for birds, thriving on the fertile, damp soils it also helps indicate.1, 2

Culture: A plant of deep and continuing importance: Northwest and wider Indigenous peoples have used nettle as a nutritious food, a medicine for arthritis and allergies, a fiber for rope, net, and cloth, and in ceremony. We offer it with respect for that living knowledge and invite support for Indigenous-led restoration through our Charitable Giving page.1

In the Kitchen

Wearing gloves, snip the top few inches of young spring plants. A 60-second blanch or a few minutes' sauté disarms the sting entirely — then treat nettle like a bold spinach: fold it into soups, frittatas, pesto, and pasta, or dry it for a rich green tea. Harvest before the plants flower, when the leaves are most tender. (Growing and harvest details are on the Planting Guide tab.)5

Attributes

  • Native Range: Circumboreal / Northern Hemisphere, incl. the Pacific Northwest1
  • USDA Zones: ~3–103
  • Light: Sun to part shade4
  • Water: Moist; rich, damp ground2
  • Soil: Rich, fertile, moist2
  • Habit: Upright perennial, 2–6 ft; spreads by rhizome1
  • Nutrition: Very high in protein, calcium, iron, vitamins A & C1
  • Harvest: Young tops in spring, with gloves — cook or dry to remove the sting1

References

  1. Oregon State University Extension, "Wild Edibles: Stinging Nettle."
  2. Pojar, J. & MacKinnon, A., Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, 2014.
  3. USDA PLANTS Database, Urtica dioica.
  4. Northwest Natural Resource Group, "Food from the Forest."
  5. "Nettle Lore (and Recipe!)," Isla Herbs.

Pot Sizing Guide

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Planting Guide: Common Nettle (Urtica dioica)

Tip: Plant it in a dedicated patch in rich, moist ground — it spreads by rhizome, so give it its own bed or a back corner, and harvest the tender tops with gloves each spring.

When Your Plant Arrives

Open the box promptly and lift your plant out gently, holding the pot rather than the stem. Leave it in its biodegradable eco-pot for now — the roots are settled and don’t need disturbing yet. Give it a slow, thorough drink until water runs through the bottom, then set it somewhere bright but sheltered, out of harsh afternoon sun, drying wind, and frost. Let it rest and acclimate there for a few days before planting, so the move from our greenhouse to your garden is a gentle one. If anything doesn’t look right, please contact customer service within 7 days of delivery and we’ll take care of you.

Choosing a Site

Light: Sun to part shade.

Soil: Rich, fertile, moist — the richer the better.

Space: 18–24 in apart; it fills in and runs by rhizome.

Planting Steps

Plant in spring or fall.

If it came in a biodegradable eco-pot, plant it pot and all — the pot is pressed from composted cow manure, so it melts into the soil and gives the young roots their first feed. No need to remove it.

Set at the depth it grew, backfill with compost, firm, water in, and mulch. Consider an edging or bounded bed — it spreads.

Watering & Care

Establishment: Keep consistently moist.

After establishment: Vigorous; cut back after harvest for a flush of tender regrowth.

Containment: Spreads by rhizome — edge or bound it.

Protection

Handling: Wear gloves — the fresh plant stings until it is cooked or dried.

Wildlife: A key larval host for several butterflies (red admiral, tortoiseshells).

Harvest Basics

Season: Young tops in early spring, before flowering (skip older, flowering leaves).

Safety: Wear gloves to pick; the sting vanishes with cooking or thorough drying.

Use: Blanch or saute to kill the sting, then use like spinach in soups, pesto, and pasta, or dry for a mineral-rich tea — a genuine superfood, high in protein, iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C.