Santolina rosmarinifolia – Santolina virens – Santolina viridis – Holy Flax – Green Santolina-

Description

Santolina – There are 5-18 frost hardy evergreen hummock forming shrubs, in the Asteraceae family, in this genus. They naturally occur in dry, rocky habitats in the Mediterranean. They produce alternate, smooth edged, pinnatisect, or pinnate, hairy, aromatic, silver gray leaves, and tiny flowers borne on long stemmed, dense, button like heads, surrounded by several rows of involucral bracts. Each floret is tubular and yellow or white, there are no ray florets. They are grown mainly for their ornamental and aromatic foliage, and are suitable for a mixed or shrub border, or a rock garden, or as an edging or low hedge. Grow in poor to moderately fertile, well drained soil in full sun, resent overly wet winters. Prone to the larvae of some Lepidoptera. S. rosmarinifolia – S. virens – S. viridis – Holy Flax – Green Santolina – This dense, rounded, bushy shrub from Spain, Portugal, and Southern France grows 1-2′ feet tall and 3′ feet wide.   It produces slender, finely cut, thread like, aromatic,, bright green, linear leaves, 1 ½-2″ long. In midsummer it bears bright yellow flower heads, 3/4″ across. Zones 6-9