We present the first laboratory tests of Spatial Linear Dark Field Control (LDFC) approaching raw contrasts (5e-7) and separations (1.5–5.2 lambda/D) needed to image jovian planets around Sun-like stars with space-borne coronagraphs like Roman-CGI and image exo-Earths around low-mass stars with future ground-based 30m class telescopes. In four separate experiments and for a range of different perturbations, LDFC largely restores (to within a factor of 1.2–1.7) and maintains a dark hole whose contrast is degraded by phase errors by an order of magnitude. Our implementation of classical speckle nulling requires a factor of 2–5 more iterations and 20–50 DM commands to reach contrasts obtained by spatial LDFC. Our results provide a promising path forward to maintaining dark holes without relying on DM probing and in the low-flux regime, which may improve the duty cycle of high-contrast imaging instruments, increase the temporal correlation of speckles, and thus enhance our ability to image true solar system analogues in the next two decades.