Coaxing the wild to grow out back

Hi! Does anyone have any suggestions on getting stinging nettle to move in out back? I live in the city, but have bought two abandoned lots. The ground is hard packed clay in general but I am busy amending it with compost and poo. I have tried twice to get nettle to grow from seed and been unsuccessful. Should I try a transplant? Or amend soil differently? What think you?

Keep trying until it takes... You might try to: Plant some just before the fall rains arrive. Plant some just before the spring rains arrive. Plant some in the summer. Plant some seeds, plant some plants. Grow some in pots for transplant. Plant some in the clay. Plant some in the compost. Plant some in the weeds... Plant some in the sun. Plant some in the shade. Eventually something may find the right conditions and thrive.

Chris, I have failed several times at getting nettles to grow from seed. Germination is iffy and the young seedlings are very fragile.

At the right time of year you can sometimes find people selling root cuttings. Supposedly propagation via root cuttings is much easier. But I do not know a current source.

Around here, nettles only grow spontaneously in old compost piles and in places where people tend to pee. They are very fond of nitrogen!

Thank you all! I will try all of the above suggestions...I am persistent.

Nettles don't grow naturally in the high desert where I live, and I was not able to start them from seed. I finally bought 6 plants from Richter's Herbs and now have a flourishing nettle patch. The shipping was expensive since they are in Canada, but every spring when I eat nettles I'm glad I did it.

I also see somebody selling root cuttings on EBay very affordably, and I think this would be as effective as buying plants, since the roots are fairly invincible once they get going.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/191632889936?ul_noapp=true&ul_ref=http%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F711-117182-37290-0%252F2%253Fmtid%253D1588%2526kwid%253D1%2526crlp%253D69982082769_324272%2526itemid%253D191632889936%2526targetid%253D124340427369%2526rpc%253D0.15%2526rpc_upld_id%253D53549%2526rlsatarget%253Dkwd-124340427369%2526device%253Dt%2526mpre%253Dhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.ebay.com%25252Fulk%25252Fitm%25252Flike%25252F191632889936%25253Flpid%25253D82%252526chn%25253Dps%2526adtype%253Dpla%2526loc%253D9030451%2526poi%253D%2526gclid%253DCj0KEQjwuqauBRDhnfvnxMvKy6UBEiQAmTLQuzOWor2RqZArSZSjiCIYTPaVwdxk6T-39GQXBn5kjTQaAtxd8P8HAQ%2526srcrot%253D711-117182-37290-0%2526rvr_id%253D882951453516&chn=ps&lpid=82

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