Plant Type

Shrub, Ground cover, Perennial, Herb

 

Height Range

1-3'

 

Flower Color

Pink, Purple

 

Flower Season

Spring, Summer

 

Leaf Color

Green, Dark Green

 

Bark Color

n/a

 

Fruit Color

n/a

 

Fruit Season

n/a

Sun

Full

 

Water

Very Low, Low

 

Growth Rate

Moderate

 

Soil Type

Sandy, Clay, Loam, Rocky, Unparticular

 

Soil Condition

Average, Rich, Poor, Well-drained, Dry

 

Soil pH

Neutral

 

Adverse Factors

n/a

Design Styles

English Cottage, Formal, Mediterranean, Ranch, Spanish

 

Accenting Features

Showy Flowers, Unusual Foliage

 

Seasonal Interest

Spring, Summer, Fall

 

Location Uses

Entry, Perennial Border, Shrub Border, Foundation, Parking Strip, Patio, Raised Planter, Walkways

 

Special Uses

Hedge, Mass Planting, Small Spaces

 

Attracts Wildlife

n/a

Wall germander is a shrubby, woody-based, clump-forming, broad leaf evergreen, grown for its attractive, aromatic, semi-evergreen foliage. Tiny, oval, scalloped, shiny dark green leaves densely cover numerous ascending and spreading stems which collectively form a mound of foliage about 12 to 15 inches tall and wide. Leaves resemble miniature oak leaves (chamaedrys means "ground oak" in reference to the leaf shape and ground cover habit). Whorls of two lipped, tubular, pink to purple (less frequently white) flowers (typical mint family) appear in terminal clusters in late spring to early summer. Use it to edge a sunny border, to line walks, or in a sunny place where you want something "boxwood-like." A very old plant, it has commonly been used in herb and knot gardens for hundreds of years.

Grow in dry to medium-dry, well drained soil in full sun. Tolerates poor soils, as long as the drainage is good (soggy or damp soils will cause the plant to rot at the crown). though listed as evergreen, it is not reliably so in our harsh winter climate. Though it has a pleasing, rounded form with no intervention, it will tolerate pruning and shearing. It makes quite a pleasing little hedge, in fact.