Stachys Species, Lamb's Ear

I love this plant and have grown it off and on for many years in pots and in the ground here in Alabama with our heavy clay soil. Althou...Read Moregh they do grow larger and multiply some, I have never had a problem with it becoming too invasive and in fact have had the opposite problem and lost beds of them a time or two, mostly due to too much water (rain). Right now they're thriving in my mailbox garden right off the scorching street. Fourth year and the two plants I put there are nicely sized with no additional plants. Maybe because it's such a rough spot out there. If you want to control it, maybe that's the answer!

They are wonderful dried and used in potpourris and incense with a light sweet fragrance of their own. But they really stand out if you like to use essential oils and perfume oils to scent or freshen up your potpourri. The leaves are soft and furry even when dried and all those little hairs hold the oils very well. Great plant and everyone loves to touch them.

I had one plant than now has became 50+ in less than 2 years. I have it on a hillside where it can spread freely. It makes a beautiful ...Read Moreground cover in an area I don't want to mow.
It grows GREAT in my red clay coil where as most other things don't without alot of amendments.
Also DEER RESISTANT!!!

I would concur with the others before me that this plant can turn up far away from where it was first planted. I love its color, winter ...Read Moreinterest and flowers so am not bothered by this. It is very easy to grab a bit and transplant - even when I forget to water it in its new place it grows. It can turn a little brown in places in the winter but it bounce back come spring. It is flowing now (beginning of May) here in Atlanta. The bees love it. I have pulled it out in places where I have not wanted it with little problem.

I live in zone 5a in Harpersfield/ Geneva, Ohio. We have very heavy clay soil; very high winds, blizzards, high snow falls and this plan...Read Moret does fantastic! I know it is called Stachys Lantana here at Bluestone Perennials, so I added it. It looks a lot like Byzantina, but doesn't say that on the plant tag from Bluestone.
It loves water and I love the flowers when they come up. I know people cut them off and like the leaves, but I love it all. It is gorgeous when they are all blooming and looks great!
I deadhead and they rebloom. They are prolific and spread rapidly, which I wanted in this english garden. They are my borders. This picture is this last summer, but they were planted as 6 clumps-3 years ago, much smaller than now. This was one of my first gardens. They really make it look good. I added Lamb's tongue on the end (you can't see it well), but they look great together. They are much prettier in person than on the photo. More purple and softer.

Tolerates sandy soil also. Loves water- but water from bottom of plant, never top. Don't spray with garden hose, put under plant and water that way. (Almost like a African violet that way).

I like this plant and have shared it with friends by simply giving them the seed stalks. Anywhere you lay them down, new plants will gro...Read Morew.
I cut the stalks off when they start to look scraggley and because of the bare spot in the middle now grow them between my irises and the edge of the patio which reins them in.
They grow in clay, deer won't eat them, they contrast with other plants and they're soft to handle...love 'em.

So far i have a positive rating for this plant. Last year when we bought this house there was just three lambs ear plants. One of them di...Read Moreed over winter. The other ones are alot bigger than they were last year,thoug most people remove the flowers i let them stay. The bumble bees enjoy them and we have several bumble bee species that are threatened that come to my garden, so im always happy to see that im helping keep the species alive. The last couple week little lambs ears have been popping up all over the yard. which where they were popping up i had no problem with since i was trying to find a drought resistant ground cover. But now i noticed one come up in my wildflower garden. Not to happy about one popping up there. So im having trouble decideing wether or not to cut the flowers of so they dont send more seeds out. But the bumble bees love them, and i think i saw a hummer by one last year too.. so im trying to decide to cut the flowers of now or wait just acouple more weeks for the butterfly bush to bloom, before cutti ng them off. I just hope they wont develop seeds in that time.

This plant has done very well in a neglected perennial garden in part shade on hard clay. Receiving absolutely no care, it has survived ...Read Moreheat and drought, and it fought off the weeds. In seven years it has increased its territory to a 2'x3' area but has not at all become invasive. This hardy, charming plant is a survivor. That's my kind of landscape plant!

Not invasive to me, but does spread nicely. Every couple years I cut all flowering stalks down before they bloom which thickens my swath...Read More. It does get ratty after extended rain, but easy enough to groom out for new growth. Very cooling gray color and of course the texture is sublime. Effective below a single fuschia peony. Also nice next to red valerian.

It tends to matt down & looks ratty after a heavy rain; but I love the soft fluffy leaves.

I'd love for this plant to be invasive...so far, it grew pretty good where I live, and then turned into JELLY. Hopefully it comes back t...Read Morehis year.

Perhaps I groped it to death? :)

I love my lamb's ear. I got a cutting from a friend. I think in her yard, in the sun, it will get huge and invasive. I put it in a partia...Read Morelly shaded spot where I hadn't been able to get anything else to grow and it is doing wonderful. I wanted a lot of space filled, so if it spreads out it will be even better. It offers great contrast and I never water it at all. The natural rain fall is all it takes.

I purchased a large plant from a nursery not knowing what the small little plant growing in the pot with it was.So, I I planted both. The...Read More unidentified plant turned out to be lamb's ear. Last year I just had beautiful foliage. This year, the plants have reached a height of at least two feet and are sending up plant spikes with YELLOW flowers. The flowers are very pretty. I can't find any information about a variety of flower colors. I assumed they would be purple.
These plants seem to have a great personality and I will continue to encourage more! My grandchildren love to touch them and watch them grow. If anyone knows why the flowers are yellow, please post. Thanks.

Thanks to the members , they were able to identify my plant without a picture. I love watching it grow, reach for the sun ,and shelter i...Read Moret's inner parts from the rain. Hopefully it won't become too intrusive only because I rent and only have a small space to grow things. I also hope it my lambs ear will flower and show it's full beauty.

One of these came up randomly last year in my front yard, and I left it, not knowing what it was. I guess I overwatered it because it die...Read Mored when the hot weather hit, and I killed it with kindness. This year a whole patch of them came up, a very long distance from the original one, in the midst of petunias I had planted. I'm thinking of digging them up and relocating them, though I'm not sure how they'll fare with disturbing them. The soil they came up in is unamended clay, is in full sun, except for the shade the petunias cast, and gets regular water from sprinkler overspray and drip a couple days per week. This time I am not giving additional water, and I see that they are much larger than the lone one I killed last year. None of them have gotten large enough to flower yet, and I have no idea where the original seeds came from. All I know is, if they can self seed and grow here in the Arizona heat, then I like them!

I treat as an annual and discard it when it gets leggy. Such a great plant to use in combo planters. I give it gentle haircuts to keep ...Read Moreit from getting leggy too soon.

Host plant for the Mealybug Destroyer which also preys on thrips.
Plant near roses to help control these pests.

I bought lamb's ear at a home store because I loved the soft gray leaves and my sister has a lot of it in Atlanta. The first two years i...Read Moret did well and looked adorable, but I guess our north Florida heat-and-humidity got to it, because it declined and has died out now. I will probably replace it, but I hesitate after reading all the negative comments. Still, I love the touch and will probably just prune out the flower.

On the one hand, it can grow on the moon. On the other hand, it is invasive and has killed my Chocolate Chip Ajuga, among other things. A...Read Morend the flowers are a pain to remove, because if you don't, they flop over and open the plant. Best to remove them and let later growth fill in the gaps. On the other hand, Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) can smother IT out. I guess there's your smothering hierarchy right there.

But they're so soft! I can forgive its faults because of that.

No one's mentioned how great the flower stalks are in flower arrangements. They last a really long time and compliment other flowers and...Read More colors very well in many different types of arrangements. I can just yank out what I don't want when it gets too big in my yard, or trowel up the new seedlings and pass them along. I love it and hope to always have some in cultivation. My soil is not super fertile, so I have not had a problem with it being too invasive. I'll try the dried flower idea too. Thank you!

I recieved a fairly large clump of Lambs Ear... dividied it up into 4 smaller clumps and so far i do like how the plant is growing.
...Read More I may, in the future, take the flower stalks down, i find the beauty of the plant is in its leaves.

deer seem to leave it alone and it looks soft and fuzzy. What more could you ask for?

Hi:
This plant grows in Arizona. anything that grows in AZ is good for us. I did overwater mine. Anything I can do to help this...Read More. They look all wilty and dying. I cut a few back just to see but will be over 110 this week. I will propably have crispy critters.
Thanks
Linda

I found this plant quite easy to grow in full to partial shade. I have not experienced any problems with invasive qualities given it has ...Read Moreroom to spread out. Since it is attractive to bees and butterflies I would recomend it in the flower garden. Another quality I like is has no insect or disease problems. the only cutural problem seems to be too wet a site.

I also found this plant to be very invasive. Were it to stay in a small area (1' circumference or less) I suppose the grey color would b...Read Moree a nice contrast to other plants in a garden. However, it multiplies like crazy and just distracts from any other plants you might have. Unfortunately, however, (and perhaps this should be used to evaluate all of my submissions), my wife, the horticultralist, loves it.

I appreciate this plant's ability to spread. My garden has been full of cheat grass and anything that can displace the cheat grass is an ...Read Moreimprovement. I use it pricipally as a ground cover. The flowers are ordinary. The leaves are profuse and a soft grey colour. Its contrasting colour makes it that more enjoyable under and around our cedar trees.

What can I say? Its a plant you can pet. I purchased this plant two weeks ago and I am anxiously antisipating it taking over. Lightning s...Read Moretruck my Maple tree two years ago and I had to have it cut down. The ground that was once bare underneath the tree is now supporting ugly ground cover. I have roughly a 20'/30' section well away from other gardens for it to cover and it will be far more attractive than the other ground cover.

In just two weeks it has almost doubled. It had two tiny blooms when I got it and now it has four large blooms and six tiny to medium size blooms. I love this plant. Every time I am out working in my yard I have to go pet it.

I did not realize the plant could grow, even thrive, in my area. (Later I found out that my mom had them in her garden and she had to ta...Read Moreke them all out because they got too evasive.) Anyway, I purchased one small container while in southern California last summer. I was so afraid to plant it, thinking it would just die. The rain in late fall certainly made the plant less fuzzy and fun to "pet" but it faired the winter well. I went out recently and not only does the plant have new growth but it looks like it is starting to spread out a little bit now too. I planted it at the base of a sweet-gum tree in the middle of our back yard. The bottom of the tree is encircled by bricks, creating a raised bed about 3 feet across. The backyard gets FULL SUN all summer and seemed to be fairly drought tolerant (though I do try to water it myself routinely - but I can be forgetful sometimes or just get too busy). I am so happy and hope that it will take over the whole area surrounding the tree soon. My blooms are purple and I love them - so I am hoping to see more of them this summer!

This plant can be a real pest...even tearing it out by the roots will not kill it. I dug it all up once and transplanted a few small pla...Read Morents in a side section in almost pure clay, out of the way. The residuals still come up in two raised beds of roses and perennials, and I have to be on alert and yank them out from year to year.

Otherwise, they're like ivy...keep them under control and they provide lots of cover for problem areas.

I have had this plant for years and it is still fun to pet. If it is in an area without enough sun or with too much moisture, the leaves...Read More do turn a bit brown and splotchy. I wouldn't put it too close to the edge of a bed; bumble bees love it and defend it from anyone walking by. Be careful where you put the cuttings when you deadhead it. There are tons of seeds and they come up for YEARS! It will even thrive in poor soil.

This was planted by the property's previous owner....we have a rock wall that lines our driveway, and there was a 5x30 section of this gr...Read Moreowing in the wall. I've pulled and dug, and decided the only way to get rid of it is spray. The plant has been there for 15+ years and has displaced many of the rocks. Invasive and very hard to get rid of.

This plant was very invasive in my yard. I had got a few cuttings from a close friend and within a month, i kid you not, it had practical...Read Morely taken over my yard. I took it all out, well i thought i did, and a few weeks later it was coming back up! I really ahd to dig at it and dig deep. If you want to get rid of it, try round up, it takes tooo much time to try and dip it out or pull it out, it always seems to come back twice as strong. Oh yea, and the whiteflys love it too.

Have had these for a few years. They seem to thrive in a.m. sun and afternoon shade. Mine get really large, but haven't been invasive. Ea...Read Moresy to care for.

A few Lamb's Ears were planted several years ago on the east side of my house in a patch of waste ground that was covered with small roc...Read Moreks. We never bothered moving the rocks yet the plants have taken over the plot. The area is surrounded with cement which keeps it from invading other garden areas. This spot gets morning sun only but the plants manage to flower anyway. The only maintenance we do is pull the occasional weed. Children love these plants because they really do feel like lambs' ears.

a fantastic bee plant .... planted just for that reason.

Mine is growing in a streetside bed with part sun. I like the silvery leaves but the leaves on the bottom keep turning brown and ugly. ...Read MoreWhat am I doing wrong?

This plant is a nice accent plant against dark green plants. I got two small pieces from a friend, and two years later, it has covered al...Read Moremost a 18' by 20' area! My whole garden floor is covered with it. I mean, I love the plant and how well it does. It seems to thrive on neglect.

I never fertilize it, and it hardly gets any water, and yet it still grows and spreads like crazy! It is kind of hard to get out of the ground to get rid of it, so I have to shovel it out,, but I kept a little small area of it! I love the feel of the leaves--they are sooo soft. It is an amazing plant, but spreads quick--might be better suited in a pot, or container.

In 2004, I put one small lamb's ear plant close against the house, where it had been dug up and backfilled for some foundation repair. It...Read More developed into a small mound by the end of the summer, and this year it has exploded into a huge mat of soft, fuzzy foliage. It doesn't seem to mind heavy clay soil and hot, dry conditions. The green leaves are covered in small hairs, which give it a grey or silvery colour. The hairs help reflect light and prevent moisture loss, so it's quite drought tolerant. It is a member of the mint family, which are known for being invasive, but in this case it's good because I need it for erosion control. The flowers are unremarkable but they attract many bees.

Unfortunately it can also start looking weedy later in the year, when the plant elongates before flowering. Heavy rain and/or high winds can flatten it. The tips will grow upward again but the rest of the stalk will remain on the ground. This decumbent habit can look ugly and will be a problem if it intrudes into other plants' space. Don't be afraid to cut it back - this plant is as tough as nails.

This is a great grey/white accent in between all the green I have going on in the garden. I have a lot of iris and this seems to soften ...Read Morethings a bit.

Grows readily even in poor soil, separated plants are quickly recovered and beautiful.

The flowers are awesome and different also.

I purchased two very small plants last year and they have grown (in a sunny location) to a patch about 2 feet by 3 feet and about 18 inch...Read Morees tall. It hasn't started to flower yet and I'm looking forward to seeing the blooms and drying them. I plan to split this plant and give my friends and family starts as it's taking over my lavender garden. It's a beautiful plant which does well in hard clay but really grows too fast to plant anywhere you don't want it to take over.

I don't much care for foliage plants but lamb's ears are a novelty. The "ears" feel just like a lamb's ears. It has attractive dusky gray...Read More, furry leaves and has a nice carpeting habit of growth.

I've not yet had the experience of dealing with it as a pest. My plant is a second year division from a neighbor's, growing in part sun, which may have reduced the invasiveness.

They should be uncovered and removed of dead foliage in the spring to promote new, attractive and healthy growth.

This lovely plant just invites you to touch it - its leaves certainly are soft as a "lamb's ear". The flowers are small & nondescript, &...Read More I usually remove them.

Needs very well-draining soil to prevent rot & prefers full sun. Will tolerate some shade, but may get leggy.

Like all silver-leaved plants, this old-time medicinal herb makes a wonderful addition to a "Moon" or "White" garden.

This plant is just about indestructible. I leave it as filler (it took over the entire back yard at one point) until I find a plant I wa...Read Morent more. And actually, I leave a few patches here and there as accents.

Thrives here in Saskatchewan Zone 3.
Lovely in "Moon" gardens.

The flowering stalks of this plant can also be dried for fall arrangements. Simply cut it off close to the base of the plant when the "...Read Morehead" is in full bloom and hang it upside down to dry. Leaves may also be dried and used (air dry). Moisture in the air can cause the "heads" to droop sometimes, so best used lying horizonal in a fireside basket arrangement, or plan the shape of the arrangement accordingly.

I grow many of these for just that purpose. Great plant!

I like this plants foliage and how vigorous it is. Its only downside to me is that it can wilt and go mouldy in humid summer weather. A h...Read Moreardy and relatively cheap plant.

I have it growing wild everywhere (New Jersey) we haven't seeded our new lawn - it took me a while to figure out that it's not necessaril...Read Morey a weed - I'm going to start transplanting it into my gardens!

I live in northern Maine, and this plant seems to thrive in my garden. I planted a small plant from an end of the season sale at my loca...Read Morel nursery, last September. I wasn't sure it was make it in this climate. This summer it has tripled in size. I love the color and the texture.

I absolutely LOVE the texture and look of this species. I have it planted in really poor clay soil that I amended with mushroom composte...Read More and other things. On top of that, there is some lava rock on top and the plant is thriving incredibly well. It's a change of pace kind of plant that's really eye-catching in a rock garden. It sure gets lots of positive reviews and acknowledgement from family and friends who see it in my garden.

ladyhawkrvc, Plainfield, IL

I have a love/hate relationship with this plant. It grows in excess in my gardens, but that means I always have some to share with frien...Read Moreds. I do love the scent when you cut the blossom stalks off, it reminds me of grape koolaid. I am continually digging the older plants up and tossing them and then leaving the younger ones till they become a pest also.

Yes, it's velvety to the touch and pleasing to the eye, but it can get way out of hand if you don't keep it from spreading all over the place.

After seeing this plant on Califronia's Central Coast, I fell in love with it. I tried and tried to grow Lamb's ears in my climate (Zone ...Read More8). It is very dry, hot and windy in the summer and very dry, cold and windy in the winter. When I stopped babying this plant it went wild. I am very happy with it.

The plant foliage looks great and neutralizes well in cruddy soil... my only complaint is that mine won't flower in the relatively shady ...Read Morearea it's planted in.

Beautiful plant with a "fuzzy" texture. This plant is doing great in clay-like soil, with sun but not too much sun. It is hot here and ...Read MoreI water it once a week. Lamb's Ear spreads outward from the center and creates a dead spot in the center. Not great for borders.

This plant is deer-resistant.

This plant did very well for me in a sunny, hot, hard packed red clay flower border in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, but seems to have di...Read Moreed out in my new garden in Northcentral Florida after an extremely wet, cloudy and cool summer. I planted it in a raised bed here, but that didn't seem to help. I'm waiting to see if it will come back this fall, and if it doesn't I will just give up on it for my area. I did enjoy the way it could fill up the front of a border up in Georgia, though, as I was trying to landscape a new yard after the builder's blldozers had scraped off the topsoil.

October 29, 2003
My Lamb's Ear never returned, although my similar looking Rose Campion (Lychnis coronaria) did return. So this beautiful plant is just not suitable for my hot, humid and rainy Florida climate, especially in a year with almost 100 inches of rain.

I have found that hummingbirds love the flowers on this plant, which is very hardy. I transplanted a few early June and they survied in ...Read MoreWisconsin, (USDA Zone 4.)

I find this plant to have an unattractive flower. On the positive side, bees LOVE it! It tends to split in the middle and take on a "mold...Read Morey" look if not clipped back. Can be EXTREMELY invasive.

It's fuzzy, it's green, it's short enough for a border. It's hard to kill, and great to touch. Why not try it? I am moving many of the...Read Morese plants from my back yard to the front, as a border to some taller perennials.

Grown primarily for its soft white, woolly foliage; leafy flower spikes with lilac blossoms may be removed for better appearance. Self-se...Read Moreeds freely. Should be divided every few years to rejuvenate the plant.