Wooly Lambs Ears (Stachys byzantina), packet of 20 seeds, organic
$3.95
Family: Mint (Lamiaceae)
Hardy to Zone 4 to 10
(Wooly Hedgenettle, Wooly Bettony, Woolly Lamb’s Ears) Evergreen perennial groundcover native to the Middle East, with soft and downy leaves, flowering purple to 26 inches. I have noticed that plants with smooth skin (unless it be dry and leathery) are often quite frost sensitive, while woolly plants tend to be frost hardy, and this is so with woolly lamb’s ears. The downy leaf also makes the plant exceptionally drought tolerant, looking healthy and unlikely to droop even if water supplies are thin, and sun is intense. The plant has two growth phases, one in which it spreads horizontally to form a cushy mat (a low-growing groundcover), and the other when it sends up its stalks and flowers in handsome spikes. Mainly used as a container plant in the city, it does well in planters along the sidewalk and is easy to upkeep while providing texture and color along what might otherwise be a drab and angular walkway. Traditional usage (TWM): antioxidant, wounds, hemostatic. Plant prefers full sun and is not particular about soil. Sow in pots in the spring and work up seedlings to the second set of leaves before transplanting out to 1 foot spacing. The plants will soon cover the area and self-mulch.
20 seeds/pkt. Certified Organically Grown
In stock
Admin Richo Cech –
The plant can be considered to be one of the woundworts,
which were of great help in days of yore,
when dragon hunting and castle wall climbing often resulted in lots of gore.
Those who knew the ways of healing employed the plant with good results,
and the fighters always asked for more.
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Admin Richo Cech –
When I first obtained this plant a couple of decades ago, I thought it was wood betony, and according to the way that plant is normally used, proceeded to make a tea out of the leaves. The tea of the fresh, undried leaves sliced into thin slips for better extraction actually turned out very nice–green and pleasantly tannic, not unlike green tea. Later I found out that true wood betony is Stachys officinalis, and that this wooly betony had little or no history of use as a tea herb. But I liked it, anyway.
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Jayne –
I like the fragrance of the flower pods on top of the stalk. I squeeze them when I walk by and rub on my hands. I wish I knew how to abstract the fragrance oil to use.
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