Lavender cotton
Santolina chamaecyparissus · Asteraceae
A dense, aromatic mound of silver-white, finely toothed foliage like coral, with yellow button flowers in summer. The traditional plant for knot gardens.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to late July
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Edging
A bed built around lavender cotton
The planner designed this bed around lavender cotton when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why lavender cotton stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Lavender cotton × 3, yellow
- 2 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 20, pink
- 3 Sea thrift × 8, white
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 3, yellow
- 5 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 5, tan
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Star of Persia × 2, purple
- 8 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 3, purple
Why this plant
- Nothing here is unique to it. Its leaf, flower shape and colour are all on the plan already. Its case rests on where it stands and when it performs.
Why here
- In the middle. At 18 in it is seen over silver sage (12 in) in front of it.
- A step in the back row. Next to false sunflower 'Summer Nights' (3½ ft) and ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From late June to late July.
- In company. With star of Persia in late June: 2 kinds at once.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 7 of the 8 groups (88%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The back corners are held by false sunflower 'Summer Nights' and little bluestem 'The Blues', the tallest plants on the plan. The most in flower at one time is 3 kinds, from late May.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 3 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where lavender cotton goes in a border
At 18 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: edging. A low, neat plant used in short runs of three or five along the front to finish the edge (or, in a formal bed, in one even row).
Grown for its foliage, and clipped like a tiny hedge. Many gardeners shear off the yellow flowers to keep the silver clean. Cut it back hard each spring, or it splits open.
- Low silver hedges and knot gardens
- Hot, dry banks
- Contrast with green and purple foliage
What to plant with lavender cotton
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- English lavender 'Hidcote': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for six weeks; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same dry soil.
- Culinary sage: in flower together for three weeks, from late June; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same dry soil.
- Wall germander: in flower together for five weeks, from late June; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about lavender cotton
Does lavender cotton need sun or shade?
Lavender cotton grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.
What zones does lavender cotton grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 9. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does lavender cotton flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to late July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 6 | Late June to late July |
|---|---|
| Zone 7 | Mid June to mid July |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to mid July |
| Zone 9 | Early June to mid July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should lavender cotton be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many lavender cotton plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as runs of three or five along the front (or one even row, in a formal bed).
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is lavender cotton poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like lavender cotton?
Lavender cotton comes from S. Europe. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 6 in narrower, flowers late June to early September.
- Scarlet coral bells: the same job in a bed; 8 in narrower, flowers late May to late July.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat lavender cotton?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after lavender cotton?
Lavender cotton is over by late July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall.
- Ornamental onion 'Millenium': from mid July to late August, 18 in tall.
- Black-eyed Susan 'American Gold Rush': from mid July to early October, 24 in tall.
What does lavender cotton look like in winter?
Lavender cotton keeps its silver leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Evergreen perennials, ferns and grasses
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late June to late July; globes; yellow
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; silver
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- S. Europe
- Stands up to
- Salt
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.