Santolina chamaecyparissus

Silver Santolina, also known as Cotton Lavender, is a very beautiful evergreen and hardy Mediterranean shrub called Santolina chamaecyparissus. The plant is very fragrant when its leafy branches are crushed and forms a tight cushion of finely cut, silver-grey foliage resembling that of a cypress tree. This plant, armed against drought and rocky soils, forms a very attractive and easy-to-grow ground cover. It tolerates pruning well and allows for the creation of very architectural borders. Give it a dry and poor slope, and it will remain unaffected by the sun and heat.

The Small Cypress Santolina is an undershrub native to Spain and southern France. This woody perennial belongs to the asteraceae family. It forms a rounded tuft of 20 to 40 cm (8 to 16in) in height and 40 to 80 cm (16 to 32in) in diameter, sometimes much larger, depending on the growing conditions and soil type. Its woody and prostrate stems easily root upon contact with the ground, allowing it to form beautiful cushions. They are covered with persistent and fragrant foliage, exuding a scent reminiscent of olive oil and turpentine. The tiny leaves are finely cut, very downy and silvery, arranged alternately on whitish stems. The inflorescences appear in summer, from June to August. These are small round and bulging heads, 1 to 1.5 cm (1in) in diameter, resembling small golden buttons. It is best to prune the plant after flowering to maintain a compact habit.

This lovely rockery undershrub and plant for poor soils is perfectly adapted to drought. It mostly dislikes heavy, rich, and moist soils, as well as watering in summer. Create a bed to accompany your santolina and evoke the scrubland, by mixing the foliage and scents of rockroses, lavenders, rosemarys, thymes, and sages. Add Californian poppies and dryland spurge for some dynamism in your composition. Santolines tolerate pruning very well. It is even essential to maintain a compact habit. They can be planted along pathways, kept as low hedges, or placed in the middle of a rockery, as a silver touch. It is a very good ground cover that prevents the germination of weeds.

Properties:

Santolines have insecticidal properties. Like lavenders, they were once used to repel moths in closets.