Cotton Lavender Virens

Description

Santolina rosmarinifolia – green cotton lavender

Botanical name: Santolina rosmarinifolia (syn. ‘Virens’)
Common names: Green cotton lavender, holy flax
Family: Asteraceae (daisy family)
Plant type: Evergreen aromatic sub-shrub
Habit: Compact, bushy, mound-forming
Pot size: 9cm pot
Eventual size: Approx. 45–60cm tall × 60cm spread
Foliage: Finely divided, feathery, aromatic bright green foliage; evergreen
Flowers: Small, rounded, button-like bright yellow flowers on slender stems in summer (July–August)
Scent: Aromatic foliage
Aspect / light: Full sun
Soil: Sharply drained; poor to average; tolerates lime; dislikes wet; any pH
Hardiness: RHS H5 (hardy, to about −15°C); USDA zones 6–9
Exposure: Open, hot, dry, sunny
Native range: Native to the Mediterranean
Toxicity / pet & child safety: Generally considered non-toxic; grown as an aromatic and ornamental foliage herb

Santolina rosmarinifolia, green cotton lavender, is a neat aromatic evergreen with finely divided bright green foliage and button-like yellow summer flowers. A fresh green alternative for low hedging and dry, sunny spots.

GardenAdvice notes

A neat, aromatic Mediterranean evergreen sub-shrub, cotton lavender (Santolina) is grown chiefly for its finely divided, aromatic foliage, which forms a dense, tidy mound, and for its button-like yellow summer flowers. Tough, drought-tolerant and clipping neatly, it is superb for low hedging, knot gardens, edging and hot, dry, sunny positions.

Growing & planting

Plant in spring in sharply drained, poor to average soil in full sun — it thrives on hot, dry, even limy soils and dislikes rich, wet, heavy ground, which is its main enemy. Ideal for gravel, Mediterranean-style gardens, low hedging, knot gardens and edging. Improve heavy soil with grit. Space about 45cm apart.

Care & maintenance

Low-maintenance. Trim over after flowering, or in spring, to keep it dense and compact — many gardeners clip off the flower buds to keep it as a neat foliage mound or hedge. Avoid cutting hard back into the old, bare wood, which it is reluctant to reshoot from. Water only while establishing; keep it dry, especially over winter.

Propagation

• Cuttings: Take semi-ripe cuttings in summer, which root readily.

Pests & diseases

Generally trouble-free in a sunny, well-drained spot. Its main enemy is wet, heavy soil, which causes rot, and old plants go woody and sprawl open. Otherwise little troubled by pests or disease.

Uses in the garden

Superb for low hedging, knot gardens and formal edging, in gravel and Mediterranean-style gardens, silver or foliage plantings and hot, dry borders, where its neat aromatic mounds bring structure and contrast.

Wildlife value

The summer flowers attract bees, hoverflies and other pollinating insects, and the aromatic foliage is generally left alone by browsing animals.

Toxicity & safety

Cotton lavender is generally regarded as non-toxic and is grown as an aromatic, ornamental foliage herb.

GardenAdvice tip

The green-leaved cotton lavender is a fresh, bright alternative to the usual silver form, its feathery green mounds equally good for a low hedge, knot garden or edging in a hot, sunny, well-drained spot. Treat it just the same — trim regularly to keep it dense, never into the bare old wood, and keep it dry, especially over winter, to avoid rot.

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