Plant Primer: Stachys Big Ears is soft to touch and offers good visual texture

Stachys Big Ears, Giant Lamb’s Ears

Light: Full sun

Height: 6-12 inches

Spread: 12-24 inches

USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-9

Origin: Middle East

An easy-to-grow-and-care-for perennial is Stachys Big Ears (Stachys byzantine ‘Big Ears’).

Its form is a mounding rosette, with leaves growing from a central point. This groundcover has obovate leaves that are quite large — 12-inches-long by 2- to 3-inches-wide, which is twice the size of the straight species.

The silvery-gray leaves are covered with soft hairs, similar to soft wool.

The foliage is great to touch and has a good visual texture, too. Its flowers are pink and grow on a spike, but Stachys Big Ears should be grown for the foliage, as this plant only grows a few flower spikes.

Once established, Stachys Big Ears is drought-tolerant. Give the Stachys Big Ears a try in the front of a sunny garden border or even in as a focal point in a garden container. 

See Stachys Big Ears in the Water Smart Garden and in the Scotts Miracle Gro Foundation Children’s Garden. 

— Barbara Arnold

Franklin Park Conservatory