Other Names:  Gray-woolly Twintip, syn. Stemodia tomentosa

Description:

An attractive, creeping groundcover, featuring silvery gray-green leaves with a bluish cast; tiny violet to lavender blooms begin in spring; grows well in thin, well drained soil; tolerates drought and reflected heat well; great for cascading over walls

Ornamental Features

Woolly Stemodia's attractive tiny tomentose oval leaves remain grayish green in color with showy powder blue variegation and tinges of silver throughout the year on a plant with a spreading habit of growth. It has violet trumpet-shaped flowers with lavender overtones and white throats along the stems from mid spring to mid fall, which are interesting on close inspection. The white stems can be quite attractive.

Landscape Attributes

Woolly Stemodia is a dense herbaceous evergreen perennial with a ground-hugging habit of growth. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Woolly Stemodia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Woolly Stemodia will grow to be only 6 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is native to parts of North America, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets. It can be propagated by division.

Woolly Stemodia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.