While flowers can dazzle the visual senses, some also create mesmerizing tactile experiences. Plants with velvety textures invite human touch. The common names of many of these plants derive from their fuzzy attributes. Fortunately for gardeners of all abilities, garden shops and plant catalogs sell many of these soft and smooth plants for indoor and outdoor cultivation in hardiness zones with temperate climates.
The texture of heart-shaped leaves on African violets (Saintpaulia ionantha) provides a soothing tactile experience. The dark green thick leaves of the low, compact perennial have tiny hairs and feel soft and smooth when rubbed. Primarily grown as houseplants, gardeners all over the globe prize the African because it flowers continuously when kept healthy. While it can survive USDA hardiness zones 14 through 15, consumers generally buy it for indoor containers. It is low maintenance and requires not much more than store-bought potting mix, average watering and partial sun. Because it requires little care, it is ideal for teaching children how to take care of plants. You can successfully start new African violets from leaf cuttings. Some cultivars of the plant produce other flower colors such as pink, white and blue.
The velvety spiked flowers of lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantine) have an otherworldly appearance. Frequently used as ground cover, the plant has fuzzy, silvery-green foliage and tiny pink-purple blossoms. Lamb’s ears mature into large mounds. Plants grow to over a foot tall with a 2- to 3-foot spread. They are perennials and fare best in well-drained soil under partial shade or full sun in USDA hardiness zones 4 to 9. They bloom during the summer months.
Indicative of its name, the cockscomb (Celosia cristata) has a striking resemblance to a rooster’s comb. The flowers bloom into oblong puffy formations. Upon touch, its crested flowers feel like velvet. Potpourri enthusiasts use the dried heads of cockscomb in colorful mixtures. The plant’s stem is a deep red hue and leaves have red veins. Grown both indoors and outdoors, the easy-to-grow annual comes in a variety of bright colors such as pink, red, yellow and orange, providing a nice touch of color to rooms and gardens. It is best to plant a cockscomb immediately after obtaining the plant in well-drained soil with moderate shade or full sun. The cockscomb grows up to 12 inches tall.
Simply called velvet flower, the Salpiglossis sinuate is a visually striking annual flower. Its trumpet-shaped petals have yellow veins running down the middle, giving the plant another one of its common names, the painted tongue. The petals have a velvety texture and can be orange, red, pink or other bright colors. The Chilean natives grow to over 36 inches tall. They thrive in loam, under full sun with average watering in Sunset zones 1 to 24. They bloom from late spring to fall.
- Learn2Grow: Saintpaulia
- Learn2Grow: Saintpaulia 'Martinique'( Optimara™ Series)
- University of Rhode Island Landscape Horticultural Program: Caring for African Violets
- Auburn University Horticulture Department: Plant Identification Resource: Scientific Name: Celosia Cristata
- Learn2Grow: Celosia Argentea 'Amigo Magenta'( Cristata Group, Amigo Series)
- University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Service: Production of Celosia as Cut Flowers
- Oregon State University Department of Horticulture: Landscape Plants: Stachys Byzantina
- Sunset.com: Lamb's Ears (Stachys Byzantina)
- Learn2Grow: Salpiglossis Sinuata
- Sunset.com: Sunset Climate Zones: San Francisco Bay Area and inland
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