Lamb's ears

Lamb's ears is a top pick for a groundcover in a hot, baked spot. Its silver felted foliage quickly forms a dense, delightful mat. It also contrasts nicely with other foliage and most flowers. enhances almost everything. Depending on the type and your growing conditions, it may self-sow freely to the point of becoming a bother. In hot humid climates, lamb's ears may "melt down" in summer, becoming brown and limp.

A quite different but related plant, big betony is worth growing for its shade tolerance, dark green crumpled leaves, and bright purple spikes of whorled 1-inch flowers in late spring. Wood betony is similar but not as shade-tolerant.

Light:

Sun, Part Sun

Zones:

4-9

Plant Type:

Perennial

Plant Height:

6-36 inches tall, depending on variety

Plant Width:

12-48 inches wide, depending on variety

Flower Color:

White, pink, purple, violet, or red flowers, depending on variety; gray/silver leaves, depending on variety

Bloom Time:

Blooms mid-spring to mid-fall, depending on variety

Landscape Uses:

Containers, Beds & Borders, Groundcover

Special Features:

Flowers, Attractive Foliage, Cut Flowers, Attracts Hummingbirds, Attracts Butterflies, Drought Tolerant, Deer Resistant, Easy to Grow

Top Varieties

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Big betony

(Stachys macrantha) bears purple flowers from early summer to fall on 2-foot stems. Zones 5-7
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Lamb's ears

(Stachys byzantina) has silvery felted, 6-inch-long leaves that make a soft mat. In early summer, stems bearing cerise-magenta flowers bloom. It grows 18 inches tall and is hardy in Zones 4-8.
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