Lamb's Ear

The leaves and stems of this plant are covered with a dense layer of tiny white hairs, making them feel silky to the touch and giving them a silvery appearance. This plant is a must for sensory garden settings, and is sure to delight children when encouraged to stroke the soft leaves. While lamb's ear is most commonly grown for its foliage, it does bloom; some varieties are grown specifically for their prolific blooms.

Colorful Combinations

In addition to lamb's ear varieties providing so much tactile joy, the silvery foliage also serves as the perfect backdrop for many other plants. The flower stalks are generally 12-18 inches tall, with small purple, white, red, or pink blooms. The soft hairs on the leaves and stems help prevent plant moisture loss, making it exceptionally drought tolerant. Plus, the hairs help prevent damage from deer and other creatures snacking on the plant, perhaps because the animals don't enjoy the texture of the leaves.

Lamb's Ear Care Must-Knows

Lamb's ear varieties can withstand poor soil conditions and drought. One thing it will not tolerate, however, is soggy soil. This plant performs best in full-sun conditions, but it can withstand some shade. The plant will look greener in the shade because it will produce fewer dense hairs.

This plant can be a vigorous grower in the garden, even verging on invasive in some areas of the country. Lamb's ear produces creeping stems that root along the soil, creating dense mats of foliage. The roots aren't very thick, so the plants can easily be pulled up where you don't want them. However, this spreading habit makes lamb's ear a good choice for a groundcover in full sun or poor soil situations. Lamb's ear also easily seeds itself around, so removing the flower stalks before they go to seed will reduce spreading.

More Lamb's Ear Varieties

Lamb's-ears

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

'Big Ears' lamb's ears

Stachys officinalis 'Big Ears', also sold as 'Helene von Stein', is a variety of lamb's ears named for its extra-large, fuzzy silver leaves. It seldom blooms, so requires little deadheading. Mature plants grow 8-10 inches tall. Zones 3-10

Wood betony

Also called bishop's wort, wood betony (Stachys officinalis) was used by ancient healers for nearly everything from curing coughs to deworming. Today it's mainly grown to draw pollinators to the garden. The plant's attractive flowers are reddish purple and lure bees. Mature plants grow to about 2 feet tall. Zones 4-8

'Rosea' wood betony

Stachys officinalis 'Rosea' is a lighter pink version of wood betony. It has the same pollinator-attracting qualities, providing a summer-long display of spires of small pink flowers above compact clumped foliage. Mature plants grow to about 2 feet tall. Zones 4-8

Big betony

Stachys macrantha bears purple flowers from early summer to fall on 2-foot stems. Zones 5-7

'Saharan Pink' betony

Stachys monieri 'Saharan Pink' is a petite version of 'Hummelo' betony with two-tone pink flowers. It grows just 1 foot tall in bloom, with a spread of about 8 inches. Deadhead spent flowers to prevent the plant from self-seeding. Zones 4-8

Lamb's Ear Companion Plants

Black-Eyed Susan

Add a pool of sunshine to the garden with a massed planting of black-eyed Susan. From midsummer, these tough native plants bloom their golden heads off in sun or light shade and mix well with other perennials, annuals, and shrubs. Tall varieties look especially appropriate among shrubs. Add black-eyed Susan to wildflower meadows or native plant gardens for a naturalized look. Average soil is sufficient, but it should hold moisture fairly well.

Daylily

Daylilies are so easy to grow you'll often find them in ditches and fields, escapees from gardens. And yet they look so delicate, producing glorious trumpet-shaped blooms in numerous colors. In fact, there are some 50,000 named hybrid cultivars in a range of flower sizes (the minis are very popular), forms, and plant heights. Some are fragrant. The flowers are borne on leafless stems. Although each bloom lasts only a single day, superior cultivars carry several buds on each scape, so bloom time is long—especially if you deadhead daily. The strappy foliage may be evergreen or deciduous.

Garden Plans for Lamb's Ear

Design for a Moon Garden

Nighttime is the right time to enjoy a garden of bright whites, fragrant blooms, and a comfortable seat.

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Summer Cottage Garden Plan

Stately delphiniums are the backbone of this colorful cottage garden plan.

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Garden Plan to Soften a Fence

The exciting plants included in this design will provide long-lasting color, fragrance, and texture that will leave you saying, "What fence?"

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Summer-Blooming Front-Yard Cottage Garden Plan

Create charm and curb appeal in your front yard with this lush, beautiful cottage garden plan.

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Long-Blooming Rock Garden Plan

This colorful rock garden is designed around a couple of very large boulders, but could easily be adapted to any rock garden setting.

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Fabulous Fall-Garden Plan

Create a burst of fall color in your landscape with this easy-care garden plan.

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Low-Water Garden Plan

No matter where you live, it's inevitable that plants will take defeats in the middle of July. Count on this easy-care garden to stay looking good through dry spells.

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