PlantFiles: Lion's Tail
Leonotis menthifolia

From some of the other descriptions posted, I think a few of the previous comments are by folks growing the much more common Leonotis leonurus "Lion's Tail" which grows up to 6 feet tall. This listing is for a dwarf variety, about half as tall, leonotis menthifolia, but also commonly called Lion's Tail. This only grows about 3 feet tall, but is far harder to find for sale.

Here in the Greater Long Beach area of Southern California, these are perennials and they are green year round. They blend in nicely with salvias and iris and are a good addition to the back of the border. They aren't invasive, but they do self sow occasionally. My first plant came from the LBCC horticulture spring sale. They can get by on winter rain fall and very infrequent summer watering. Great plant for drought tolerant gardens.

I purchased 2 young plants from the local College's Horticultural Department as "African Lion's Tails". Easy to grow. They love full sun and and are hardy once established. They tolerate arid conditions well after growing to about a foot or more. Mine usually grow 9 to 12 feet tall.
The orange flowers that grow from the spiky pods look like small Lion's tails. Hummingbirds love them. As the pods mature, they turn brown at the top while the flowering portions progress downward.
Once the pods have turned brown, you can cut them off, tip them upside down and rattle the seeds out. A few taps and you have loads of seeds.

my husband had one delivered to me a few years ago instead of cut roses for our anniversary in december. i thought i'd lost it the first year but it has now bloomed for me a couple of years in a row. this year is the best! the foliage is big and happy, the blooms lasted a long while, and i have a seed pod that appears to have 3 plump seeds just about ready to be harvested....but the pod is still green so i'm just watching. i keep it under a deck during the hot summer which keeps it cooler. i keep it there too during the worst of winter for protection from the cold. however, in november/december it goes by the front door and stays there until the sun starts to hit that area and it gets too hot. yes, its in a pot. i find that i do have to move it around to keep it alive and well.

I was wondering what to do about this plant; I now have three. I found answers by reading the comments as to whether I should prune them after bloom and just leave them alone. I believe either way will work but pruning would give them a little more shape. Thank you.

I now have two varieties of this plant. 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 grow the Var. L. NEPETIFOLIA, in Zone 7A/7B I'm right on t/line. This is also known as KLIP DAGGA. Native to Tropical Africa & Southern India. Have had plants grow to 6/8 ft. tall & just as wide in growth. Flowers are orange but can be red, white, & purple. Selfseeds readily & comes back every year. Very little pest problems & tolerates the heat, an excellent plant.
Medicinal properties- Relaxant, coughs, fever.
When smoked, has a very relaxing eurphoric quality & is stronger than L. MENTHIFOLIA.
Highly recommend growing KLIP DAGGA for it's beauty, charm, & for medicinal properties. You should be aware that this one doesn't have as many flower petals & forms on a rather SPINY BALL. But I'm very pleased with this one over t/ Var. L. Menthifolia, simply because of it's Medicinal value (much more potent)! Happy Gardening!

First year growing this unusual beauty. Mine grew over 12 ft tall!
Its hard to gather seeds from as the flowers are very picky and dont seem to want to give up their seeds very good. Im anxious to see if they come back from fallen seed.
Im now sharing this plant with lots of garden friends.

......smoking or drinking the flowers as a tea helps with insomnia......

This plant is also called Lion's Mane and Wild Dagga. Here in SE Alabama it provides beautiful color to the Fall garden. It grows quite abundantly, despite the drought we had this summer. This plant started out in a small 1 gallon nursery pot and has now grown to fit a 10 gallon pot and is about 3-4 feet tall.

I used Lion's Tail in container here in SE New England. We have had some soft frost and it is still going strong. Very easy to start from cuttings. A beautiful cut flower that lasts in the vase for weeks! My new favorite friend.

I was given 2 plants as baby ( 2inches tall ) in a trade. I planted them in the spring. They grew to about 6 feet tall!!!
They just started blooming in the first of September .
I am in zone 7. I will try to save the seeds. I was told it was hardy to my zone when given to me. I will post an up date next spring for u zone 7 people! I hope they reseed!
I have them planted in full sun.
Nice back ground plant.
Taller than my HollyHocks!

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

Wonderful plant that grows very well in the limestone, caliche, and clay of the Edwards Plateau. I cut it back and mulch in the fall and it grows back in early spring. First flowers appeared in May this year. I water them weekly; normal height is 24 inches or more here. Very tolerant of fierce sun and poor soil; requires only watering and appears to be impervious to disease and insects.

Unusual looking plant, sure to draw comments from everyone that sees it in bloom. Did some pruning and stuck the pruned pieces directly in soil and they rooted easily and are doing great.

Love the plant. I just wanted to note that it tis easy to propagate cuttings. Out of around 90 cuttings only one died.

I am in love with this plant! The orange flowers are happy and Dr. Seuss-like. We call this palnt the 'giant orange ball flower'. I originally collected the seeds in southern Madagascar, and have been growing them outdoors here in Bloomington, IN., for the past five years. They are strong attractors for humming birds, bees, moths, ants and other beasties. I have thousands of seeds, free to anyone for the asking. 'architeuthis2000@yahoo.com'.

I just saw this beautiful flower last night at a friend's home in a flower arrangement on the kitchen table. It was so cute with the little green seed pod sticking up about four or five inches out of the center of the flower. My friends grow it in Gainesville, Florida (USDA Zone 8b) in full sun and it reseeds itself.

I was thankful for how easy it was to grow since I could only grow it as an annual it bloomed only (maybe) two months. I'll have to start indoors a little sooner next spring.

The Lion's Tail that I grew was the variety in the pictures above. It was easy to grow yet it seemed very responsive to varied watering conditions.

If started indoors, be aware that the plant grows very fast and the roots may become pot-bound very fast. The sooner they can be planted outside the better.

Here I don't even give them any water but the summer is mild (San Francisco Bay area, California) but they bloom freely anyway & seems to be toally carefree & immune to disease. Plant is deer-resistant which is a big plus for me.

The exotic-looking blooms always invite comments. They do get big so it's probably best to put them against a south fence. The only downside is they reseed freely so I have go out and pull up the seedlings every winter. A heavy pruning after bloom keeps them from becoming ungainly.

This plant reseeds freely in zone 9a. In fact, it can become a prickly pest in orange groves and fence rows. Flower arrangers like the dried stems and pods.

Small evergreen shrub, native to South Africa, superior form to L. leonurus because it retains foliage to the ground as opposed to becoming woody.

Full sun, orange flowers resemble fuzzy lions tails. Prune for shape a couple of times a year.