Santolina chamaecyparissus, also known as lavender cotton or gray santolina, is a beautiful evergreen shrub with silvery gray and green foliage. It belongs to the family Asteraceae and blooms with button-like flowers in the summer.A great candidate for borders, beds, rock gardens, and as a xeriscaping plant, lavender cotton adds a subtle but silvery gray-green color to a green space and grows as tall as 2′ feet.
Lavender Cotton Care
Santolina Chamaecyparissus
What is the plant
humidity
Dry
lighting
Full Sun
hardiness zone
6 - 9
difficulty
Medium
hibernation
Cold Period
How to Care for the Plant
Water
Although lavender cotton is a drought-tolerant plant, an inch of water per week during the first growing season will help the plant develop a strong root system.
Pruning
After the blooms fade, you can cut the plant back by half to keep a pleasing rounded form. When several hard freezes have occurred, you can shear the plant back to the soil level. Don’t wait until spring to do this, or you may sacrifice the blooms.
Fertilizer
Additional fertilizer isn’t necessary for lavender cotton plants, which prefer the poor and rocky soils similar to their native Mediterranean region.
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Sunlight
Lavender cotton grows well in full sun
Soil
Areas with low rainfall tend to have alkaline soil but test the soil pH if you aren't sure. If your soil is acidic, you may add ground limestone or wood ashes to bring the soil to an alkaline pH up to 8.5, keeping in mind the tolerance of its companion plants.
Popularity
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