• Silver foliage
• Groundcover
• Drought tolerant

• Category: Vines and Groundcovers
• Hardiness Zone: 8b
• Height: 6 in
• Spread: 3 ft
• Spacing: 2-3 ft
• Bloom Color: Blue
• Foliage Color: Silver

Woolly Stemodia is a Texas native groundcover, indigenous to the coastal and southern regions of the state, where sandy, well-drained soils are most prevalent. It performs well across South, Central, and Southeast Texas and has proven adaptable in Hill Country landscapes when drainage is excellent. It is less reliable in North Texas and the Panhandle, where hard freezes push it beyond its comfort zone. Its tolerance for heat, drought, and poor soils makes it a practical, low-maintenance choice for Texas landscapes.

At maturity, Woolly Stemodia stays low,  typically 6 inches tall, while spreading up to 3 feet wide through stolons, forming a dense, velvety mat of silvery-white foliage. Space plants 2 to 3 feet apart for mass plantings or groundcover applications. It works exceptionally well as a front-of-border plant, a mass planting in raised beds, or as a spiller in containers and over retaining walls. Its bold foliage texture makes it a strong contrast plant when paired with darker-leaved perennials or ornamental grasses.

Woolly Stemodia thrives in full sun and tolerates partial afternoon shade. It requires well-drained soil and is quite adaptable to sandy, loamy, or poor soils, but will rot from the crown if kept too wet — avoid poorly drained sites entirely. Once established, it is notably drought tolerant and should be watered sparingly. It is considered deer resistant due to its fuzzy leaf texture and aromatic oils. Small lavender to white flowers bloom from spring through fall, though they are modest in size and nestled tightly within the foliage, making them more of a subtle detail than a showy feature. It serves as a larval host plant for the Twintip Buckeye butterfly.

In Central and North Texas, Woolly Stemodia will die back to the ground following hard freezes. Established plants resprout reliably in early spring. Prune back dead top growth in late winter to encourage fresh, compact regrowth. In its native range across South Texas and the Gulf Coast, it remains semi-evergreen through mild winters.