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Lambs Ear control

GwenrGwenr KentPosts: 150
in Problem solving
How is the best way to control Lambs Ear, the bees love it and I like the leaves and flowers but it gets so out of control and walks everywhere. Could I also have some advice on the best way to keep the flowers upright, I've tried bamboo canes and string, but the stems just collapse into themselves.

Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Vendée, Western FrancePosts: 28,045
    Assuming you mean the silver leaved plant with hairy foliage just pull it up when it goes astray.  It's a very easy plant to weed by hand or with a small fork or a hoe.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • GwenrGwenr KentPosts: 150
    Obelixx said:
    Assuming you mean the silver leaved plant with hairy foliage just pull it up when it goes astray.  It's a very easy plant to weed by hand or with a small fork or a hoe.
    That's what I've been doing, but it grows so fast. Any tips on keeping the stems upright apart from using bamboo canes and string?
  • KT53KT53 South WestPosts: 6,825
    It's a nightmare for me too. I do rip it out when it starts to spread but we have it appearing in the lawn too!
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 19,170
    Maybe your soil is a bit rich and damp. I'm in SW France and it's not so rampant on poor dry soil, really useful in drought. My stems don't fall over until they've nearly finished flowering then I cut them off.
    Dordogne and Norfolk
  • GwenrGwenr KentPosts: 150
    Busy-Lizzie said:
    Maybe your soil is a bit rich and damp. I'm in SW France and it's not so rampant on poor dry soil, really useful in drought. My stems don't fall over until they've nearly finished flowering then I cut them off.
    I find the stems get so high and are so heavy with flowers the stems start half laying down, but they are full of bees all the time.
  • ObelixxObelixx Vendée, Western FrancePosts: 28,045
    I grow them as ground cover in beds that get too dry to sustain much else in our drought periods - their silvery, fluffy foliage is meant for dry situations - so I never get floppy stems.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • LG_LG_ SE LondonPosts: 3,921
    I agree - grow them hard. Or grow 'Silver Carpet', which doesn't flower!
    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
    - Cicero
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