Santolina rosmarinifoliaGreen Santolina

The Santolina rosmarinifolia, commonly known as the Green Santolina or Holy Flax, is a low, aromatic evergreen shrub of the western Mediterranean. It forms a tight, fine-textured green mound of thread-like leaves, topped through early summer with small bright yellow button flowers held on slender stalks.

It is the green counterpart to the familiar grey cotton lavender, and it clips into a low formal edge as readily as it sits in a mixed dryland bed. It is used for low hedging, bed edging, median planting and Mediterranean-character ground layer.

Specifications

• Height0.4 to 0.6 metres
• Width0.6 to 1 metre
• Native toThe western Mediterranean, in Spain, Portugal and southern France
• FoliageFine, thread-like bright green aromatic leaves held densely in a tight mound; evergreen
• Growth rateModerate

Conditions

• SoilRequires well-drained sandy, gravelly or stony soils; tolerates poor and alkaline ground and dislikes winter wet
• LightFull sun
• WaterLow; strongly drought-tolerant once established
• ClimateThrives in Mediterranean, arid and semi-arid regions with hot dry summers; tolerates frost

Additional Features

• FlowersSmall bright yellow button flowerheads on slender stalks through early summer
• UsesLow formal hedging and bed edging, median and roundabout planting, Mediterranean-character ground layer, herb and sensory gardens
• SpacingPlant 0.4 to 0.5 metres apart for a continuous low hedge or mass
• Low MaintenanceClip after flowering to hold a tight mound; avoid cutting back into old bare wood
• Pest ResistanceFree of significant pest and disease problems where drainage is good
• Drought ToleranceHigh, holding foliage and form through hot dry summers on minimal irrigation
• FragranceThe foliage is strongly aromatic when brushed or clipped, which makes it useful beside paths and seating
• Wildlife AttractionThe flowerheads are worked steadily by bees and hoverflies

The Green Santolina is a fine-textured, clippable evergreen for the front of a dryland bed, and it smells of the Mediterranean when you brush past it.