Ptilotus exaltatus 'Joey': The Adorable Lamb's Tails

The Charming Pink Mulla Mulla

Ptilotus exaltatus 'Joey', known as Lamb's Tails or Pink Mulla Mulla, is a delightful Australian native perennial that produces irresistible feathery flower spikes resembling tiny pink lambs' tails. This improved cultivar offers enhanced garden performance.

Botanical Details

Unique Floral Texture

This compact perennial forms a low rosette of silver-green, lance-shaped leaves 6-12 inches tall. From spring through summer (and often into fall), it sends up numerous sturdy stems topped with dense, conical to cylindrical spikes of tiny flowers covered in silky, pinkish-silver hairs. The effect is uncannily like fluffy pink caterpillars or lambs' tails—irresistibly touchable.

'Joey' thrives in full sun with excellent drainage—essential for this arid-land native. It's exceptionally drought and heat tolerant once established. Poor, sandy, or rocky soil is ideal. Hardy in zones 9-11; often grown as an annual elsewhere. Avoid wet feet, especially in winter.

Garden Applications

Perfect for rock gardens, xeriscapes, Mediterranean plantings, and containers. The unusual texture contrasts beautifully with smooth-leaved succulents, grasses, and fine-textured perennials. Excellent cut flower—fresh or dried. Attracts native bees and beneficial insects. A conversation piece in any garden.