How to Grow Lavender Cotton Like a Pro

Lavender cotton is an undemanding, evergreen subshrub valued mostly for its interesting silvery, gray-green foliage.

Drought tolerant and adapted to poor soil, it's versatile as an accent and filler plant in beds, borders, and hedges and works well in rock gardens and xeriscapes. Tiny, highly aromatic leaves are three-dimensional instead of flat and initially covered with tiny hairs giving them a wooly appearance. Bright, yellow, button flowers open in summer.

Short-lived at four to five years, lavender cotton exhibits a shrubby growth habit that spreads outward, eventually leading to an open center with a flattened appearance.

Lavender Cotton Care

It's easy to grow this low-growing shrub. It adapts to soil type, as long as it's not too acidic, and thrives anywhere in full sun.

Native to the coastal Mediterranean basin, lavender cotton is salt tolerant. The chief care requirement is annual pruning after flowering to keep a full, mounded appearance. Rarely grown indoors, its small size, nevertheless, works well in mixed containers and pots.

• Grow lavender cotton in full sun

• Maintain established plants on the dry side.

• Prune annually to improve appearance and extend the life of lavender cotton

• Do not fertilize

Light

Plant lavender cotton in a location with full sun exposure for a minimum of six hours of bright, direct light daily. It will tolerate some shade with slower growth and diminished flowering.

Soil

Soil on the dry side that drains well improves performance but this is a plant that actually prefers poor soil with a balanced to slightly alkaline pH. Rich soils and those that hold water cause irreversible rot and plant loss.

Water

When setting out new plants, water them regularly for the first year, allowing soil to dry out almost completely in between. Once established, lavender cotton requires irrigation only during extended periods of hot, dry weather.

Temperature and Humidity

Lavender cotton withstands temperatures as high as 115°F and as low as 0°F. In more temperate zones plants may die back to the ground in winter with new growth emerging the following spring.

This Mediterranean native also prefers a dry climate with low humidity. Provide good air circulation to discourage fungal growth.

Fertilizer

Fertilizer is best avoided all together. Lavender cotton does not do well with supplemental nutrients or planted in fertile soils.

Types of Lavender Cotton

Several species of Santolina are called Lavender Cotton interchangeably with leaf type as the distinguishing characteristic. These are all compact subshrubs with brightly colored button flowers opening above the foliage in summer. Santolina chamaecyparissus is available in several cultivars with slight variations in height, foliage, and flower color:

• Santolina chamaecyparissus 'Weston': A dwarf form less than 1 foot tall. Silvery foliage is more ornamental than the species with a strong pungent scent.
  

• Santolina chamaecyparissus 'Edward Bowles' : Gray-green leaves and creamy-yellow flowers.
  

• Santolina chamaecyparissus 'Lemon Queen': Green leaves and pale yellow flowers.

• Santolina chamaecyparissus 'Sulphurea': Gray-green foliage and pale, primrose yellow flowers.

Pruning

Deadheading spent flowers and pruning annually preserves the appearance and extends the life of your lavender cotton. The goal is to maintain an evenly rounded shape.

This is accomplished using several methods. Trimming or shearing is done in autumn. Hard pruning is done in early spring and should not extend into established hardwood.

• Trim or shear top growth so that all stems are the same height.

• Thin out the densest areas of growth for uniform fullness.

• Cut back the entire plant by one-half.

Propagating Lavender Cotton

Layering during active growth is the easiest method of propagation but you also can start new plants with semi-ripe stem cuttings taken in summer.

To propagate with stem cuttings, gather a small pruner, razor blade, garden or potting soil without added fertilizer, sand or perlite, flat or small pots, and rooting hormone. Follow these steps:

1. Use the pruner to clip 3- to 4-inch semi-ripe cuttings in late summer. Semi-ripe cuttings are partly green but starting to harden.

2. Strip the bottom leaves keeping several sets at the top.

3. Fill a flat or small pot with garden or potting soil. Avoid mixtures with high acidity and add sand or perlite for drainage, if needed.

4. Use the razor blade to remove several strips from the top layer of bark at the bottom of the cutting.

5. Dip the cutting in the rooting hormone to cover several nodes.

6. Insert it in a pot or use a flat for multiple cuttings.

7. Place in a warm (70°F to 75°F), sunny location.

8. Keep soil evenly moist. Cuttings may take three to four months to develop roots.

Propagate By Layering

Layering is straightforward and can result in new plants in as few as six to eight weeks. Begin this project when plants are actively growing. You need a razor blade, rooting hormone, and an anchor pin or rock.

1. Choose a stem on the outside of the plant and use the razor to wound a section of the stem. Keep the cuts shallow removing just the top layer of bark.

2. Treat this section with rooting hormone and anchor it into the soil.

3. Keep soil moist but avoid overwatering.

4. Once roots form, the new plant can be dug up and moved to a new location or potted up for overwintering in a greenhouse or another warm, protected spot.

How to Grow Lavender Cotton From Seed

Seeds are usually sown indoors six to eight weeks before final frost. They do require a 30 day stratification before planting.

1. Fill a flat or small pot with lightly moistened seed starting mix.

2. Sow two to three seeds per cell or pot, 1/8-inch deep, barely covering with soil.

3. Place to receive full sun and maintain temperature of 70°F. Bottom heat aids germination if air temperature drops below 70°F.

4. Keep seedlings moist but not wet until germination occurs in seven to fourteen days.

5. Harden off before transplanting outdoors after the final frost.

Potting and Repotting Lavender Cotton

Lavender cotton provides a nice accent in mixed containers with other plants that thrive in dry, nutrient-poor soil. It's better suited to outdoor conditions and rarely grown as a houseplant. Clay, unglazed terracotta, and wood are best for maintaining dry soil.

Make sure containers have good drainage holes. Plants can spread fairly quickly so move your lavender cotton up a pot size when it doubles in size or once a year in early spring. Sandy garden soil or container mix without fertilizer is suitable.

Common Pests and Plant Diseases

This is a sturdy plant not bothered by pests or disease. It's strong scent is off-putting to rabbits and deer. Lavender cotton can become infected with root rot and pythium wilt.

These problems are likely to come up only if plants are overwatered or grown in poorly drained soil.

How to Get Lavender Cotton to Bloom

Lavender cotton blooms reliably all summer without any extra fuss. Some growers prefer to maintain this solely as a foliage plant, removing buds by shearing them off before they open.

Bloom Months

Most shrubs flower from June through August although this may occur slightly earlier or later depending on climate.

How Long Does Lavender Cotton Bloom?

Flowers are long standing and usually last all summer.

What Do Lavender Cotton Flowers Look and Smell Like?

Blossoms are made up of numerous tiny tubular flowers that form a button shape atop each stem. Half-inch flowers appear in shades of yellow from creamy to bright and yellow-gold. Flowers are strongly scented and often compared to oregano or camphor. Both flowers and foliage are a traditional ingredient in potpourri.

How to Encourage More Blooms

Deading or shearing spent blooms is the best way to keep your shrub looking its best with abundant flowering the following season.

Caring For Lavender Cotton After It Blooms

After the bloom period is the best time to prune lavender cotton to maintain its round, mounded shape. This is a good time to take semi-ripe cuttings to propagate new plants.

Common Problems With Lavender Cotton

Lavender cotton has few basic needs and, once these are met, it's almost carefree. Overwatering, failure to prune, and old age are most likely to cause your plant to decline.

Fungal Infections

Crown rot, root rot, and pythium wilt are fungal infections that occur when plants are overwatered or grown in soil too dense or too rich.

Symptoms include wilting during the day, yellowing leaves, stunted growth, and mushy brown roots. Prevent these issues by planting in well-drained soil, allowing soil to dry out between waterings, and providing adequate air circulation.

Bare Center

Even with diligent pruning, eventually your lavender plant is going to spread out with die-back in the center giving it an unsightly, ragged appearance. Annual trimming can keep these short-lived plants going for five or six years but plan ahead for replacements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does lavender cotton spread?

Part of the attraction of this low-growing shrub is its round, slightly mounded shape. Plants spread out to about 2 feet in diameter but eventually develop a bare center and should be replaced.

Does lavender cotton attract pollinators.

Bright yellow flowers are especially attractive to bees but also draw moths and butterflies. Flowers produce nectar and pollen serving as both host and food plants.

12 Good Foliage Plants for Your Garden

Read the original article on The Spruce.