How to Grow Lamb's Ears (Stachys Byzantina)

Lamb's ears is a mat-forming ground cover with woolly gray leaves that are delightful to touch. It's easy to pull out in areas you prefer not to have it, and the leaves have a delightful applelike scent. Lamb's ears thrives in USDA zones 4 to 8.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Fertilizers
• Garden Hoses
• Garden Spades
• Mulch
• Plants
• Shovels

1. Look for plants at nurseries in spring and summer, or year-round in warmer climates.

2. Choose healthy-looking plants with signs of new growth in leaves and flower buds. Buy lamb's ears in 4-inch to 1-gallon containers.

3. Choose a site with full sun and well-drained soil.

4. Dig a hole for each plant no deeper than the plants were growing in the containers; space the holes 1 foot apart.

5. Add a light application of organic fertilizer to the planting holes before setting the plants in.

6. Mulch around but not on top of the plants with 3 inches of organic compost.

7. Water well until soil is completely moist, weekly, during the first year only.

Tips & Warnings

• Lamb's ears plants grow to 18 inches, including the spikes of purple flowers, and spread 1 foot or more.

• Grow lamb's ears at the base of a wall or along a path.