Chistets woolly - perennial plant belonging to the family Lamiaceae. It is found in the wild in Transcaucasia, in Iran, in Turkey, as well as in southern Russia.
This is a plant with a powerful root system. Without peduncles, its height does not exceed 20 cm. The leaves are gray-green, thickened, oval-oblong, pubescent, tapering to the base, form a fairly dense rosette. Peduncles reach a height of 60 cm, erect, tetrahedral, silver. It blooms from late May to September. Its flowers are small,
lilac in color, two-lipped, about 1 cm in diameter, collected in inflorescences.
Chistets woolly, “sheep’s ears” - these are the popular names for Byzantine stakhis - plants of extraordinary beauty. Surprisingly, flower stalks do not decorate it very much, some people cut them off so as not to spoil the decorative look of the flowerbed or composition.
Wool purse can be grown from seeds. To do this, they need to be sown for seedlings in March. Shoots will appear in about 3-3.5 weeks. At first, young plants are not at all like adults, they have green and unrefined leaves. It may seem that the seeds of some other plant are caught.
As soon as the seedlings grow a little, they need to be planted in separate containers. It is desirable to plant on a flowerbed at the end of May, without violating the earthen lump. Gradually inconspicuous bushes will become overgrown with a barely noticeable fluff and acquire a silver hue. By the end of summer, each plant will be a rosette of medium-sized leaves, and in general a mat will appear, as if powdered with silver.
Chistets woolly does not lose its appearance even in winter, decorating empty flower beds, if they do not fill up with snow. It winters beautifully without any shelter, moreover, without loss of the aerial parts. In spring, the leaves become larger, and at the beginning of May flower stalks begin to grow, by the end of the month the plant blooms.
Stachis care is simple. It can grow on any soil (with the exception of waterlogged). All its splendor is shown in a sunny place by a woolly cleaner. “Sheep’s ears”, the cultivation of which is not difficult, are drought-resistant, watering rare and only under the root. Peduncles after flowering should be cut as low as possible, to remove some of the lower leaves, so that the plant quickly acquires a magnificent appearance.
In one place, woolly cleaner can grow for several years. However, over time, the middle of the bush goes bald, dies, and the plant itself shifts to the side. Therefore, it is advisable to transplant it every 3-4 years, throwing the middle and dividing into sockets. It is better to do this in the spring. Stachis grows especially luxuriantly on fresh soil rich in organic matter.
Chistets woolly has an interesting feature. If you touch its pleasant to the touch leaves, then your hands for a long time retain some kind of subtle aroma, reminiscent of wild strawberries. It is very attractive in the morning, when the leaves are strewn with diamonds - dewdrops shining in the sun.
Chistets woolly - an amazing groundcover. It looks great on the lawn, on the alpine hill, and along the edge of the path or flowerbed. Settle this silvery (so to speak) plant in your garden. It is very decorative in the summer, it will decorate the empty area in the fall and winter, the first to please you in the spring.