PlantFiles: Lion's Ear
Leonotis leonurus

I now have two varieties of this plant (also known as Lion's Tail, Wild Dagga). My first (going on its 2nd year in the garden) has the long slender leaves. It wintered well here in the Texas Hill Country with a mulching. I just planted the second variety which has small round - almost scalloped leaves. The bloom ball on this plant appears a little coarser than the plant with the slender leaves. I would appreciate any assistance with the names of the two varieties and any other information regarding the differences, uses and origins.

I love growing unusual plants and trees and this plant is such an eye catcher! Last year I grew it in part sun part shade and it did well. When the plants get about 2-3 in. I cut off the next set of new leaves that come on so it branches out, then cut those as they grow to fill out the plant more. This year it is growing in full sun.

Came back from an 11 degree freeze here two years ago. Reseeds slightly and becomes a little woody at the base, but overall a great plant for a hot, dry site. Hummingbirds love it.

I grew L. leonurus from seed indoors in the spring of 2008. From an early June planting out, the 7-8 plants grew to about 7-8' tall and bloomed from early October to frost. They are spectacular even before they bloom!
I plan to pot up a few of them to winter over in my 40 deg. greehouse. Perhaps they will even root from cuttings in the spring to increase my supply.
I will replant them next year in both my garden and in a public garden which I manage. Maybe they will start blooming earlier from that headstart.

I grow this in 9a. (Florida) It went through a few hours of below freezing temperature, and only killed the blooms. It bounced right back and bloomed again. It's one of my favorite plants. : )

Another name for this delightful plant is Lion's Paw. Butterflies and hummingbirds are attracted to it. Blooms for a long period of time - early in spring, during summer's heat and, before our recent "hard freeze" again in December. Children love it for the fuzzy blooms, the beautiful color and it's unforgettable name.

While I love the unique look of Leonotis, I tend
to prefer leonurus over nepetifolia for it's bushier
habit, whereas nep is often tall and somewhat lanky.

Very interesting plant!

Very easy, and the hummers love it!

This plant grows beautifully in full sun with regular irrigation in the "Savanna Blooms" South African exhibit at the Jacksonville, Florida, Zoo and Gardens. The climate here is borderline 8b/9a. The plant dies back in Winter, but recovers quickly and is now in full bloom in Mid-May. It has reseeded itself freely around the parent plants.

But.... what part of the plant resembles a lion's ear?? I've also heard it called "Lion's Tail" which makes a bit more sense for a common name.

Jeremy

We use this plant at the University of Maine in Orono. It is possible to grow it up there if it is well protected and in full sun. I think it works nice as when planted in a cluster in the center of a circular privacy garden. Pretty unique.

I've grown this plant from seed as an annual in my zone 8b garden. This year I'm planning to cut it back and over-winter it in my un-heated growroom. I've had very good results wintering over lots of other zone 9+ plants in this fashion. I hope it will work fine with this one as well.

I've grown this plant for several years. It's the talk of the neighborhood. I harvest the seeds to share with those I know and to grow new plants the following year. I prefer the way this plant fills out to L. nepetifolia. But I still grow both.

Very unique and interesting plant. I love to grow lion's ear for the comments I get from neighbors. Great annual (in my zone).

Beautiful flowers and it grows well here but plant is very large and takes up much to much room in my garden where space is at a premium. I have NEVER seen a butterfly upon it. So, I plant to shovel prune mine soon.

I tried to grow this plant from seed as an annual on my balcony in Brooklyn NY several years ago. Only one plant managed to flower, and that was around Thanksgiving (mild winter that year!) but it was spectacular when it did. It did not come back in the spring.

This plant has been growing in my Raleigh NC (Zone 7b/8a) garden without special protection for the last four years. We have seen temps as low as 10 deg at least once a season over that same period and it has returned each year although rather late in the season. I got this plant from an Oct. JC Raulston Arboretum giveaway, planted it in Oct and it has been doing well since. I do not know if it is a special cultivar bred for cold hardiness. That first winter (2000-2001) was very mild by NC standards which may have been a stroke of luck (pelargoniums returned in the spring that year). Spring planting under normal circumstances would be a wise choice to bolster the cold hardiness. I was unfamiliar with the plant at the time.

The leonitis behaves as an herbaceous perennial here and grows to about 3feet including the bloom stalks. It blooms in late Sept and Oct until the first killing frost. It is planted at the top of a well drained bank on the dry side. No fertilizer is used, only an annual mulching with shredded bark mulch. This year I have piled leaves on top and am waiting to cut it back in the spring to see if it comes up earlier than the past.

This is a great plant for its late season interest. Summer's last hurrah in my garden.

Kathy

I live in NW Indiana, zone 5a just outside of Chicago so you know what kind of winters we have here. I planted seedlings in the spring of 2003 and it survived the winter and grew like a champ the summer of 2004. I don't know if the original plant survived or if it reseeded itself but I hope it does the same thing in 2005,

love this plant! beautiful and has gone through 3 bloom cycles from the beginning of june to the beginning of october. easy to grow in decent soil with decent drainage. also, the flower petals are a traditional smoke of an african tradition, quite mild. i've also been told that it is deer resistant, but i have not experimented there yet.

I started seeds (from T&M) in early spring, now it's late August and those plants (6) range from 10 to 12 feet tall- they are still growing. Actually, I was nearly overwhelmed by their size and vigor. These 10 to 12 ft leonotis are Leonotis nepetifolia var. 'Staircase'.

This is a very spectacular plant, with beautiful flowers. I bought two of them, at separate times. Both went through an initial growth spurt, but then seemed to wither up and die. The first plant suddenly came back to life, and the second never recovered. Only difference was that the one that survived had some shade.

I started several plants from seed in my greenhouse in 2/03. by july/03 they were in my flower patch and 8-10feet tall, widely branched, almost forming a thick hedge. I needed the space in my garden and planted some of the smaller ones in a very poor area in my front yard in full sun. It is now 1/25/04, and i am happy to report that they are blooming more then ever, eventhough we have had many freezes (28 F having been the coldest). I have not taken care of them since I stopped watering in september. They have adapted their shape from straight up to curving, even making curves 1" above ground, always with a flower or two (or three)at the end. The 1st and second flower pod will bloom but never the smallest one at the tip. Has anyone had the same experience? I will try to propagate them next month or so, but will leave them in place to see how they will make out. Possibly a perrenial in NW Florida's Gulf Coast?

Very fast-growing shrub. Grows full size in about 2-4 yrs. Cut down to about 20 cm tall after flowering finished. Can also grow from cuttings in early summer. Very drought-resistant (I never water mine)

As one can see by my pictures this is a beautiful plant.It grows straight up and out. I thought as with most of my shots, what would a hummingbird, or bee see? These were taken with a 1.3 megapixel camera. I have a Nikon 35mm slr, but this is my first venture into digital. I have found you can grow anything at anytime of the year here(9a). This is a S. Africa native, thru Hawaii. Almost all plants that say cape in their name can take cold to 25 degrees or less. Look for those if you like this one.

I just got seeds from another gardener. I can't wait to see these bloom in my garden!

I planted this in my yard last year and it was doing quite well. It started to flower in June of this year, but then the branches started to die off one by one. By late July, the whole plant was dead. I do not know why. I don't think that it is due to underwatering or overwatering since everything around it was fine.

I have just bought this plant today, and hope to be planting it in my garden tomorrow. It produces a lot of nectar and draws a lot of unusual wild birds.

The color of the flower (unnoticed by our own human eyes) contains pigments which are recognised from afar by these birds. It is one of the best plants for bird watching.

Progress report 19.09.2003: About three weeks ago we had a severe frost spell (with below-zero temperatures) for about 4-5 days, which killed off the 2 shoots the plant had. But it quickly responded by sending up a new shoot, which is already beginning to flower bright orange again.

I loved this plant and would grow it again... in a warmer zone. The stems are very strong and woody. I started them indoors, but even doing that they barely made it to start blooming before hard frost... zone 4 is just too short and I can't bring them in over the winter.

I brought three Lion's Ear plants back to Minnesota from California in June 2002. They started as 2-3" plants, and have since been repotted twice to larger pots. At the time I had to bring them indoors for the winter, they were almost four feet, and one of them got a very quick flower.

I just got this plant this spring for the butterfly/hummer garden and like it so far. It started out in March '02 in a 2 inch pot and has grown to about 4 ft. tall and 2 ft. wide over 10 months. I haven't added any fertilizer beyond the compost I mixed into the planting hole when I installed it. So far it has not been damaged by the cold weather (down to around 38) and I haven't had any fungus problems.

Growing this plant now. 3 months and the plants are on average 2 feet in height. Live in a humid tropical climate so the plants are doing ok (seem to have a spore issue right now.)

Courtesy of 'Troy':

Perennial if protected from freezing, grown as an annual in the temperate north. Native of South Africa. Highly decorative, with tall, whorled spikes holding arrays of long-tubed and curving orange flowers that resemble lion's ears. Hummingbirds love them.

Internally, the tea of the dried leaves is taken to treat headache, bronchitis, high blood pressure and the common cold.

Cultivation: Extra care. Start early. Germ. in 5-9 days. Plant prefers fertile soil, regular watering and full sun. Space 1 or 2 feet apart. Flowers to 5 feet.

An attractive addition to the perennial garden, can be used as a backdrop for shorter flowers or a stand-alone planting along walkways.

The stems bear whorled clusters of tubular-shaped orange flowers resembling a lion's ear. Also called Lion's Tail because blossoms have long tapering stems.