Sometimes you just have to love a plant for an unusual characteristic. Fuzzy plants are that way for me. Something about a hairy leaf is interesting and intriguing. There are even plants with fuzzy flowers. That is just crazy when you think about it. J
Fuzzy leaves and flowers are a response to several survival factors. Fuzzy leaves will keep them from being eaten by most insects. Grazing deer and rabbits will usually leave them alone as well. In the desert the special hairy leaves will help keep moisture in and protect against drought and sunburn.
Fuzzy flowers provide more surface area for nectar to be available for pollinators. Many plants that live in dry climates have fuzzy flowers to protect against losing moisture. Certain species have more fuzzy flowers than others like the many varieties of salvia. Here are a few of my favorites right now…
This Russian Sage – Pervoskia Atriplicifolia here has a long spike of flowers with fuzz all up and down the spike and small blue flowers bloom out of purple, hair covered calyx. It’s out of this world!
One of my new favorite plants is this Stachys ‘Bella Grigio’. It was a must have plant two years ago and I couldn’t find it anywhere. This year I was able to get some from the grower and have really enjoyed it. It has great structure and really puts on growth the first year. The hardiness is a little iffy some say but I’m willing to try leaving it outside this year.
Fremontedendron ‘Ken Taylor’ has orange flowers instead of the yellow flowers of the species. The common name is the Flannel bush, which describes the leaves extremely well. The leaves are also fragrant which was a surprise to me.
Verbascum is an old garden plant that once you have it you can never get rid of it. Lovely where it can get big and tall, not so great near the edge of a walk. This volunteers all over my garden and I pull it out where ever it’s unwanted.
An unusual variety of spiderwort is this little fuzzy Tradescantia ‘Cob Web’. The leaves are fantastic, even if the blooms are a little on the small side. The soft velvet leaves are so amazing you just get caught up in the web.
Very unlike the common Kalanchoe, which is a over offered plant at the grocery store, Kalanchoe ‘Fang’ is more my style. The amazing hairy or fuzzy leaves are gray with brown. Bumpy and spiky textures also come into play on the leaves creating so much interest that it is hard to imagine what would happen if it flowered. It does but mine has not yet. I let it spend the winter in the greenhouse just in case it gets below 25 degrees.
Leonitis leonurus or Lions Tail is a great name for this fuzzy flower. The stem is square with tiered whorls of multiple flowers. Long blooming throughout the summer it really does make you think of lions.
I’ll leave you with a great picture of a mini-lion, the cat Louie. He loves this plant and spends time hitting at the stem and making the flowers wave back and for. Many plants have many uses, many shapes and sizes. What’s not to love about fuzzy plants?
