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Other Names:  Lambs Ears

Ornamental Features

Lamb's Ears's attractive tomentose oval leaves emerge silver in spring, turning gray in color throughout the season on a plant with a mounded habit of growth. It has masses of beautiful spikes of pink flowers rising above the foliage in early summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings.

Landscape Attributes

Lamb's Ears is a dense herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting bees to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Spreading
• Self-Seeding

Lamb's Ears is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover

Planting & Growing

Lamb's Ears will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity extending to 24 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 18 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 15 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to dry locations, and dislikes excessive moisture. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division.