How To Care For A Lambs Ear Plant

Want to know How to Care for a Lambs Ear Plant? If so, then this blog post has all the information you need. We offer the best care and maintenance tips and enlighten you about this stunning plant.

If you are looking for a velvety ground cover to enhance your landscape, then the Stachys Byzantina or Lambs Ear Plant is a great option. It grows in dense clumps and offers an eye-catching look to any garden. The plant’s silver-green leaves resemble that of a lambs ear, hence the name.

Before we dive into the best care strategies for your lamb’s ear plant, let’s start with a fun fact! Did you know that this perennial plant was used as a bandage to secure the wounds of many soldiers who fought on battlefields? This was because the leaves helped to absorb blood and also have antibacterial properties. Have a look below to learn more about this beautiful plant.

Knowing Your Lambs Ear Plant

Native to the middle east and parts of Europe, the lamb’s ears plant is named so because of the appearance of its fluffy ovate leaves. This plant is easy to and is a member of the Lamiaceae plant family.

The lamb’s ear plant is an evergreen perennial that stays lush through the harshest winter seasons. For this reason, it is sought by many gardeners and homeowners as it is a great benefit to any landscape. However, knowing how to care for a lambs ear plant is essential for their health and growth.

Aside from that, these plants played a huge role in healing wounds caused on battlefields. Their anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and antibacterial properties proved remarkable for centuries. Although this plant is not native to the Americas, it grows well in USDA hardiness zones 4 to 10. It is drought resistant and great for rocky gardens. It is also resilient and has the ability to grow at a rapid pace.

Best Soil for Lambs Ear Plants

Soil is one of the most important factors when growing any plant. While some plants prefer alkaline soils, others thrive in acidic soil. Having knowledge of how to care for a lambs ear plant will afford you a beautifully blanketed lush garden.

This perennial is hardy and does well in slightly moist soil with good drainage. It prefers moderate acidity in the soil so a pH of 6.0 – 6.5 would be ideal. The mistake that many gardeners make when growing lambs’ ears is that they plant them in soil that has fertilizer. These plants will not grow well in soil that has added fertilizer.

However, adding organic matter to the soil is recommended. Any soil that is well-draining, slightly dry, and acidic is best for lambs ear plants. These plants offer beautiful purple blooms in the summer time especially if they’re grown in the right conditions.

How to Grow Lambs Ear Plants

If you’re a beginner gardener, then the lamb’s ear plants are the right choice for you. It is easy to grow and low maintenance, making it great for any garden. Although this plant can grow in pots indoors, it is not recommended. This is because their growth will stump if grown in a restricted environment.

For this reason, planting your lamb’s ear plants in an open garden bed is best. This will give them free will to spread out and grow their best. To ensure that they reach their full potential, learning how to care for a lambs ear plants is vital. Listed below are a few tips to grow this fabulous plant.

Tips:

To begin, you can start by spacing out your planting spot at least 20 inches apart.
Make sure that you are planting in soil that drains well and has an addition of compost.
Remember to not add any fertilizer as lambs’ ear plants don’t like rich soil.
Ensure that the area where you’re planting the lamb’s ears receives full sun with partial shade.
After planting, water your lamb’s ear regularly until they are established. However, it is recommended that you don’t use overhead sprinklers for watering purposes.
Once your plants are properly established, pruning them in the summer months will avoid overcrowding and rot.

Here’s a video with more information about growing lambs ear plants.

If your aim is to have a lush garden, then having the best information on how to care for a lambs ear plant will be of great benefit. Although these plants are not very demanding, maintaining them properly will allow them to grow healthily.

This in turn will afford you the blanketed velvety ground cover offered by the eye-catching beauty of lambs ear plants. Here are some care tips that you should take heed of when growing these plants.

Care Tips:

Lambs ear plants grow best when planted within reach of full sun and partially shaded areas.
However, if your region has high humidity which can cause disease and flaw your plant, shaded areas are best.
Ensure that your plant is irrigated sparingly and not overwatered.
These plants bloom in the summer and should be cut back when the season ends. Pruning leaves and branches that are tattered is recommended.
Soil that has compost and good drainage will ensure that your plant grows healthily.
This plant needs around 3cm of water weekly. However, this will also depend on the climate in your region.
To minimize and eliminate diseases, do not use fertilizer on lamb’s ear plants.
Lambs ear can be propagated through seeds, by dividing established plants, or by planting their roots.
The best planting season for lambs ear plants is in the autumn and spring seasons. Using a starter tray when planting from seed will aid them in germinating faster.

Conclusion

Now that you have the information you need about how to care for a lambs ear plant, you can look forward to a thriving garden. These plants offer an unusual beauty to any landscape and are therefore sought-after by both established and beginner gardeners.

It is a child-friendly plant that is easy to grow and maintain and its wool-like foliage is a great attraction. It can be grown as border plants or as full ground cover. This plant is often used as a camouflage for plants that lay dormant as it spread out and stays lush all year through.

So, if you are after a lush garden and low-maintenance plant, then lambs ear is a great option. It keeps insects and garden pests at bay and is advantageous because of its centuries-old medicinal properties. Have a look at this link to learn more about this unique breathtaking plant. Click on the link for more information about this fabulous plant.

FAQs

Do lambs ears like sun or shade?

Lamb's ear plants like sunlight and partial shade. However, this will also depend on the humidity of the region they are planted in. If it is an area with very hot weather conditions, then growing them in a shaded spot is best.

Should lambs ear be cut back in the fall?

Yes, lambs ear plants should be cut back in the fall season. This is because they bloom in summer and need to be trimmed down when the season ends to ensure that they grow healthily.

How do you prune a lamb's ear?

To prune a lambs ear plant, you should remove any tattered leaves and stems from the plant. Also, if the plant has any rot at its core, it should be removed.

What to do with lambs ear after it blooms?

After a lambs ear plant blooms, you can cut it back and use the blooms as arrangements. Pruning them after the blooming season will ensure that they thrive.