Scientific name: Stachys byzantina
Synonym: Stachys lanata Jacq. , Stachys olympica
Family: LAMIACEAE
Common names: “Lamb’s ear” “bear’s ear” “bunnies’ ears” “cat’s ear” “mouse ear”
Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
Conditions:
Zone: 4-8
Light: Full sun
Exposure: Sheltered
Soil: Average fertility
Moisture: Moist well drained – dry, drought tolerant
Aesthetic:
Plant Size: H 18″flowering stems, W spreading groundcover
Leaf and Stem shape: Thick basal rosettes of soft, oblong-elliptic leaves and stems densely white-woolly
Flower: Erect stems with purple – pink sometimes striped flowers, arranged in many-flowered whorls in an interrupted spike in summer
Maintenance: Medium, cut back hard in early spring to rake out the old leaves, divide and transplant in spring, can cut out flowers as they emerge
Landscape use: Groundcover, edging, shrub underplanting, childrens garden, garden for the visually impaired, plants reflect light
Propagate: By seed and division
Pests & Disease: None in Victoria
Comments: So soft, the leaves of this plant bring joy to all who feel them
Cultivars: S. b. ‘Helen Von Stein’ & S. b. ‘Silver Carpet’ – do not flower
