Should I leave my Lamb's Ear alone over the winter?
eholmes1
11 years ago
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Comments (6)
bill_ri_z6b
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Lamb's Ear Seedlings - not looking so good
Comments (5)I water them from the top, pouring a small amount of water on the soil. On occasion I mist the leaves. I used to water every day, lately I've switched to every other day since I was thinking maybe it was too much water. Perhaps I should back off even more? Lately our humidity has been very high due to a lot of rain (which I bring seedlings inside when it rains) so that might be part of it too. So, what does dampening off look like? They just die? Turn some other color? I had some cilantro seedlings that looked great for awhile and then keeled over. Turned yellow first. Same went with them - I didn't know if I was over watering or if it was dampening off. I have many other seedlings that still "look" healthy, but they are just not growing. Example: my coleus was planted 7 weeks ago but it still is only like 1 centimeter tall with only the first set of leaves. Other ones I'm not sure if they are healthy because they are laying down flat: my forget me nots are laying flat but with enough leaves I thought maybe I could try hardening off. My 7 wk old sweet alyssum is about 2 inches long, most with one set of leaves, some with two, but all of them are also laying flat and just look so weak that I can't think about transplanting them either. I feel like I am mean & cruel to my little plants, making them suffer! I'm a bad plant mother. *LOL*...See MoreDoes anyone like Lambs Ears?
Comments (30)As previously mentioned, the cultivar 'Helen Von Stein' (also known as 'Big Ears') rarely flowers and has no issues with humidity. I planted a small start in a tiny garden (around 4' by 6') back in 2001. Since then, it has flowered once, never been divided, has increased but not excessively (my dianthus has spread much more agressively) and has never needed or received any special care. I am finally going to dig some up this fall to cut it back a bit. I find it especially lovely with blue-purple flowered plants. Here it is in May 2005: And here is the same garden in May 2011. You can see that the plant has grown, but not to any crazy extent. Here is a close up of the plant from 2011: The garden contains amended clay. Bottom line is, as with many plants, many factors go into whether it's going to be well behaved or not....See MoreKeeping Elephant Ears Over the Winter
Comments (16)yes! the leaves and tubers. both, are edible as I bought them from the indian store as a vegetable. I did read a long time ago about various types and if I remember, they are several genera( and more species) in this collection? As I do not know too much about the edible factor for them, I stick to the edible ones from the indian store, Colocasia sp. ( maybe esculenta). The green stem and the purple stem. Where did you buy the tubers? You must make sure that they are edible ones. They are some that are ornamental ( the one with the dog picture are ornamental types , I think) As the oxalic acid content is pretty high in the leaves and tubers, you have to cook them really well. In India we cook steam them with brown sugar and Tamarind paste/lime juice along with indian spices to offset the oxalic acid crystals. The can really scratch your throat. My husband will not eat them as he is very sensitive. I do not seem to have too many issues. For that matter , Purslane, and some other greens, have a bit of Oxalic acid crystals. I love Purslane too. I cook them with lentils. Mm mm....See MoreHow do you pot up lambs ear? Please Help!
Comments (3)I've potted-up lamb's ears two different ways. Neither is quick. One way is to do it in the fall and I only take one stem with roots on it. I then leave it to winter over and by the time market starts in the spring, it has several new stems branching out and looks like a well developed plant. I make sure it is well water before I cover it up with straw for the winter. The other way solves the water/dry issue. I only use this way if I have a lot of room and don't mind having a pot visable in the garden. I take a 4" pot filled with potting soil, place it next to/under a stem with roots dangling, then lay the area with the roots on top of the potting soil in the pot. I secure the whole thing with a sod staple over the stem, through the pot, and out a drainage hole in the bottom. When I see new stems (month or so) I clip it from the mother plant....See Moreeholmes1
11 years agoAmanda Garica
7 years agodefrost49
7 years agoSherry Freeman
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
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