Plants with soft fuzzy leaves can be easily mixed with several landscape elements, adding texture and movement to your garden. They can also be the right element to take the edge off hardscape landscape elements.
Our gardening experts are going to teach you about nine notable species with flowing, fuzzy and tender leaves that make your garden look like a dream.
Contents
A List Of Plants With Soft And Fuzzy Leaves You Can Plant
1. Dusty Miller
Not only is the silver dust plant an excellent choice for busy gardeners because it’s pretty hardy, but the neutral look of its foil-like pale green-silver foliage makes it suitable for any landscape design or color scheme.
– Climate
Senecio cineraria (dusty miller’s scientific name) is a winter-hardy plant that is able to survive in harsh climates, and it’s one of the most popular types of fuzzy plants and has been around for decades because it’s pretty easy to grow.
– Flowering and Care
In summer, this plant grows yellow blooms, but they are quite rare and only grow after the second season.
Plants grow in different types of soil as long as it’s well-draining. Once established, this plant can withstand irregular watering, but it needs full sun to stay healthy.
– Planting Ideas
It’s a good companion plant for blue Ageratum, African violet, and other brightly colored flowers. In a moon garden, it can bring out the beauty of winter blooms. You can grow this plant in a container garden because it’s toxic to humans and pets.
– Pairing
It’s a good companion to velvety plants like the Tradescantia sillamontana, Echeveria coccinea, Crassula namaquensis, and Crassula pubescens, where the contrasting shades of foliage add beauty to your garden.
2. Lamb’s Ear
The Stachys byzantina, or wooly betony, is a sun-loving perennial. This plant can grow purple blooms that appear on tall upright stalks. In most cases, gardeners will remove these flowering stalks to keep the plant’s energy.
– Growth Requirements
The plant can survive in various locations but needs protection from the hot sun in hotter climates.
It thrives in slightly acidic soil and should receive one inch of water when the soil is dry.
– Benefits
It’s usually grown for its beautiful velvety leaves, creating a soft mat in your garden because it spreads fast. Although the flowers have a pleasant fruity smell, this plant can deter deer and rabbits.
– Issues
In organic-rich soil, lamb’s ears can become too aggressive, quickly taking over your garden. In highly humid conditions, it can be prone to leaf spots, and poor-draining soil will lead to root rot.
3. Panda Plant
Also known as the chocolate soldier plant, this plant is one of the most popular fuzzy succulents. It’s grown as an indoor plant because it’s beginner-gardener-friendly.
– Characteristics
It gets its name from the chocolate brown rim that edges the light green fuzzy foliage and comes in various sizes. The Kalanchoe tomentosa is a hardy succulent that survives all year long when grown as an indoor plant. It can grow up to two foot tall.
– Pests and Toxicity
It’s resistant to most pests and diseases, but it can be infected by mealybugs and spider mites.
All the plant’s parts are toxic to humans and animals, so you should be careful before picking a spot to grow it.
– Growth Requirements
Receiving at least six hours of indirect sunlight will help this plant stay in its best shape, but it still hardly blooms when grown inside the house. It needs to grow in well-draining soil or a special succulent potting mix. It’s drought-resistant but needs more watering when grown outside.
– Pairing
You can grow it next to other succulent species like the Aeonium smithii. Pair it with the Kalanchoe eriophylla for a dreamy succulent garden.
4. Chenille Plant
The Echeveria pulvinata, or plush plant, has bright green soft leaves with red edges, and it’s different from the Acalypha, which is famous for its fuzzy flowers.
– Characteristics
This plant is also known as ruby slippers, red velvet, and chenille plant plush. The plant’s rosettes can be around 4 inches tall, and the hairs cover them from the sun’s harshness because the leaves can get easily scorched.
– Growing Season
It’s a winter hardy plant and can return year after year. The plant’s orange-red flowers bloom in late winter but can stay in bloom till spring.
You can grow this plant in warm climates, but in colder climates, it’s best to grow it as an indoor plant. It thrives in well-draining soil and should be watered deeply when the soil is dry.
– Special Features
The plant has bell-shaped flowers that can be an excellent addition to your pollinator garden because they attract hummingbirds and bees. This plant is highly versatile but won’t tolerate extreme heat or coldness.
5. Bear’s Paw
The beautiful pendulum succulent is characterized by its ovate fuzzy leaf features and the dark red toothed edges along the margins, resembling the look of the bear paw.
– Characteristics
Thanks to its outstanding foliage, this plant will be an excellent addition to many landscape designs and garden setups. The Cotyledon tomentosa succulent can grow to be about two feet tall and 24 inches wide in optimal conditions.
– Growing Season
It goes dormant in summer and survives in partial or full sun, depending on the climate.
Just like most succulents, this one is drought-resistant, but it needs regular fertilization during the growing season.
– Planting Options
This succulent grows as a shrub, so it can be a good border plant. It grows light pink, red, and even cream flowers in summer and can be grown from seed or cuttings.
– Pairing
You can grow this plant inside the house, where it should be placed next to a south-facing window. Grow it with the Kalanchoe orgyalis or copper spoons plant for a beautiful succulent indoor garden.
6. Bearded Leaved Crassula
Crassula barbata is another fuzzy-leafed succulent growing solitary rosettes of thick green leaves.
– Characteristics
The leaves are covered in numerous white velvet hairs, and white or pink flowers appear in spring. After blooming, the rosettes will die, leaving basal rosettes that can be grown the following year.
– Growing Conditions
It’s best to plant this succulent during the warm season, making sure that the soil is dry before planting it.
It thrives in various light conditions and should be grown in well-draining soil.
– Care Requirements
Although this plant is relatively easy to grow, it’s prone to fungal diseases and mealy bug infestations. Also, since it’s usually grown as an indoor plant, you need to make sure that it doesn’t sit in too much water because it can suffer from root rot.
– Pairing and Soil Requirements
Plant it with pussy ears or Cyanotis somaliensis for a dreamy indoor succulent garden. If you’re growing it as a potted plant, you might want to consider growing it in a succulent potting mix.
7. Mexican Firecracker
Echeveria setosa is a beautiful addition to your succulent or rock garden, with scoop-like leaves covered with tiny hairs. These hairs give the plant its fuzzy appearance, which can deter several pests.
– Characteristics
This succulent’s rosettes can only be around a few inches tall, but it grows long stalks that carry red and yellow flowers in late spring. These flowers attract hummingbirds and will be a cool addition to your pollinator garden.
– Growth Conditions
This simple plant is easy to take care of in your outdoor or indoor space. It thrives in full sun, but some partial shade is recommended if you live in a hot climate.
When grown in a pot, it’s best to use a cactus mix and make sure that you don’t overwater it to protect it from root rot.
– Propagation and Care
This plant can be easily propagated from stems, leaf cuttings, and offsets. You should remove the withered leaves to control the presence of dead plant matter. This will also keep pests away from your garden. Since this plant is native to desert conditions, not adding any fertilizers is actually recommended.
8. Purple Fountain Grass
Nothing beats this grass if you’re looking for a colorful addition to your garden. It features long burgundy-colored leaves and downward purple flowers that bring a pop of color to any garden setup.
– Flowering Season
The flowers grow in summer, and after they fade, the feathery seed heads represent an excellent attraction in your fall garden.
– Climate and Light
This plant thrives in hotter climates, but it can be enjoyed for a couple of years in colder conditions.
It prefers loamy soil and can tolerate some partial shade, although full sun exposure is recommended.
– Soil and Watering
This plant tolerates poor soil with no issues, even though fertile soil will boost its growth. It needs to be watered regularly until it gets established.
– Benefits
It’s almost pest and disease resistant and can deter groundhogs and deer. The plant can be grown as a hedge, border, screen, or in containers and patios. The dry seed heads are popular in dry flower arrangements.
9. Pickle Plant
Delosperma echinatum, or pickle cactus, is named after the unusually shaped leaves that look like tiny pickles.
– Characteristics
It’s covered in soft fuzzy hairs that don’t hurt when touched but give the plant a cute look. When grown in your garden, this plant will have a shrub-like appearance with a height of 20 inches. In spring, white or yellow daisy-like flowers appear.
– Planting
This is an excellent plant for small indoor spaces because it can grow in small pots with no issues. It’s a great companion plant for Crassula lanuginosa.
Fertilizing this plant once during spring and summer will keep it in perfect shape.
– Growth Conditions
Just like other succulents, this plant is more tolerant to underwatering than overwatering. It thrives in well-draining soil so the roots don’t suffer from rot and can tolerate different light conditions. However, too much shade can make this plant leggy and affect its growth.
Conclusion
The fuzzy look of the leaves adds a magical touch to your garden as the tiny hairs move with the wind and reflect the light. Luckily, there are several plants to grow if this is the effect you want to create in your garden.
- Most plants that have velvety foliage are actually succulents.
- Fuzzy succulents like the chocolate soldier plant are popular for novice gardeners because they can tolerate neglect.
- Plants that are fuzzy can deter several animals and contribute to protecting your landscape.
So, with all these gorgeous options, which dreamy feathery soft plants are you planning to grow next?
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