Lamb’s-Ears (Woolly Betony)
Stachys byzantina. LAMIACEAE (LABIATAE).
Planting and Growing Lamb’s-Ears
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow lamb’s-ears in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of lamb’s-ears
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for lamb’s-ears
- Season of bloom and planting time for lamb’s-ears
- When, how deep, and where to plant lamb’s-ears
- How to plant lamb’s-ears
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of lamb’s-ears
- Landscape and container uses of lamb’s-ears
- Comments about lamb’s-ears and its features
Growing Lamb’s-Ears
Several cultivars of low, mounding or spreading, stoloniferous, perennial herbs, 1–3 ft. (30–90 cm) tall. Fuzzy or velvety, gray green to silvery white, lamb’s-ear-shaped leaves, 4–6 in. (10–15 cm) long.
Big betony, Stachys macrantha; is a closely related species with similar care needs.
Texas betony or scarlet hedgenettle, Stachys coccinea, and woundwort or hidalgo, Stachys albotomentosa, are closely related, tender species, requiring frost protection.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Many tiny, pink, purple, tubular, flared-lipped or cottony, hairy flowers, 1/2–1‑in. (12–25‑mm) wide, in dense clusters on tall, wiry stalks, in late spring–early autumn. Some cultivars are non-flowering foliage plants.
Best Climates
Hardy. Zones 4–10. Best in cool, low-humidity climates.
Soil Type and Fertility
Damp, well-drained, sandy soil. Fertility: Average–low. 6.5–7.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Early spring in full sun to partial shade, 10–18 in. (25–45 cm) apart.
Proper Care
Moderate. Keep damp; allow soil surface to dry between waterings. Avoid wetting foliage. Drought tolerant. Fertilize annually in spring. Deadhead flower stalks before or after bloom. Protect from heat, rain. Propagate by division, seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for accents, borders, containers, contrasting foliage, edgings, ground covers, paths in cottage, formal, seaside, woodland gardens. Attracts bees. Salt tolerant. Pest, disease, and oak root fungus resistant.