A heavy leaf cover can smother smaller plants, specially those that are not fully herbaceous (ie., dieback into the ground in winter). Lamium should be evergreen in all but the most extreme end of its hardiness zone (and then, mostly so) and certainly so in zone 7, so is best to remove the leaves after they fall. FWIW, large, unshredded and uncomposted leaves become heavy and waterlogged in winter and can easily produce rotting of smaller, underlying plants, not to mention the smothering factor.

I'd have to agree with gardengal. I know in my yard, my oak leaves make a pretty heavy cover when they fall, and if not raked up, they get wet and matted and even heavier. I would think this wouldn't be good for the lamium.

:)
Dee

Thank you, Dee and Gardengal. I just planted three more and will follow your suggestions to remove the heavy leaf cover. I guess they need less protection than I thought. Anyway, it will be an interesting experiment to try.

-Pat

Pat, if you want to give them a bit of protection, try shredding the leaves before you put them down. This way they don't get so matted and heavy, and they will fall in amongst the plants and you can leave them as a soil amendment in the spring.

:)
Dee