Lambs Ears
Lambs ears is a low-growing plant with fuzzy, grey-green, lance-shaped leaves. Pink flowers appear on strong, upright stalks. Some gardeners remove the flower stalks after blooming to highlight the interesting foliage.
This plant spreads by both runners and seed. It very drought-tolerant and easy-to-grow.
Lambs Ears
Lambs ears is a low-growing plant with fuzzy, grey-green, lance-shaped leaves. Pink flowers appear on strong, upright stalks. Some gardeners remove the flower stalks after blooming to highlight the interesting foliage.
This plant spreads by both runners and seed. It very drought-tolerant and easy-to-grow.
Plant details
Botanic Name
Stachys byzantina
Pronunciation
STAY-kiss biz-an-TEE-nuh
Mature Height
8 to 10 in.
Mature Spread
1 to 2 ft.
Water usage
One Droplet: Water twice per month or less, once established.
Two Droplets: Water about once per week, once established.
Three Droplets: Water about twice per week, once established.
Flower Color
pink
Bloom time
summer
Colorado Native
No
Natural Habitat
Caucasus to Iran
Light Requirements
sun
Cold Hardiness
USDA zones 4-8
Elevation Limit
hardy to 7,000 ft.
Performance
Lambs ear is a vigorous plant in the Colorado Springs area. Its leaves are quite attractive and contrast nicely with other perennials and groundcovers. It spreads quite a bit by seed.
The flower stalks are moderately attractive. We remove the flower stalks right after they finish blooming to prevent spreading. This practice also highlight the beautiful leaves for the rest of the growing season.
Maintenance
Rake and clean up old leaves in the spring. Remove flower stalks after blooming to discourage reseeding.
See in a landscape
Before this backyard was renovated, the grass was out of control! It was fence-to-fence and took a lot of time and money to hand water. Three quarters of the grass was removed and a large patio and planting beds took it's place. The patio is gravel and recycled concrete from a pathway that was in the yard to keep the outdoor living area renovation affordable. The planting beds are large enough to accommodate trees, shrubs, perennials and raised vegetable beds which are watered by drip irrigation. The new, smaller lawn area was updated with an efficient irrigation system using rebated heads and nozzles.
This backyard needs to be durable enough for this family of adults, kids and dogs. Kentucky bluegrass can be a great option for high traffic yards, just make sure to keep the area under 1000 square feet, and till and amend the soil before planting seed or sod. This yard also features shrubs, perennials and vegetables around the grass and is watered with efficient spray heads and nozzles in the grass area and drip irrigation in the planted areas.