Teucrium, Germander: planting and care

Description and botany

Le Teucrium or germander belongs to family Lamiaceae, as do its close relatives sage, mint, lavender and thyme. The genus comprises about a hundred species native to hillsides and rocky areas of the Mediterranean — southern Spain, southern Portugal and Morocco — and even the arid hills of Iran and the Caucasus. Germanders are divided between groundcover species such as Teucrium chamaedrys (dwarf germander) and shrubby species such as Teucrium fruticans, also called “tree germander”, which is the most common in gardens. This species grows wild on the Mediterranean coast where it is protected. ‘Azureum’, a blue-flowered teucrium, is one of the loveliest varieties derived from this shrubby germander.

Among Teucrium are also Teucrium hircanicum, or Iranian germander, and Teucrium x lucidrys, or Lucidrys germander, an undershrub perennial that is very mat-forming — these are among the species most frequently planted in gardens.

Habit and size vary by species: shrubby and somewhat untidy, reaching up to 1.40 m, even 2 m in all directions in Teucrium fruticans; erect in tufts about 60 cm high in Teucrium hircanicum; and creeping and very mat-forming in Teucrium chamaedrys and Teucrium x lucidrys, two species whose height ranges from 15 to 40 cm. Teucrium aroanium, among the smallest (8–10 cm high), makes a perfect groundcover.

Foliage, often evergreen, sometimes semi-evergreen or even deciduous depending on climate, develops on stems that are square in cross-section, often woody and sometimes woolly. Some germanders produce upright, strongly branched stems (Teucrium fruticans), while others (Teucrium chamaedrys) spread slowly via stoloniferous stems that root where they touch the soil.

Leaf shape, texture and colour also vary by species. Leaves are arranged in opposite, decussate pairs — that is, in a cross pattern along the stem. They measure 3 to 5 cm long and are linear, ovate to oblong or lanceolate, with prominent veins, entire or so strongly crenate that they resemble tiny oak leaves in dwarf germander, which is how this undershrub got its vernacular name.

Teucrium chamaedrys / Teucrium hircanicum

Leathery, green and glossy above in most species, leaves are covered with a fine down that gives a bright grey-green silvery colour in Teucrium fruticans. The underside is often coated with a thick white felt or tomentum, very downy. In some, leaves are slightly aromatic when crushed. The foliage then releases a scent recalling hay or a slightly sharp aroma.

From this glabrous or pubescent vegetation, both compact and airy, emerge in spring (February to June, sometimes as early as December in Mediterranean regions) or in summer (June to September north of the Loire), depending on species and climate, small inflorescences typical of the Lamiaceae. Grouped in 2 to 6, in racemes or spikes on the upper parts of the hairy stems, the rounded, downy flower buds open into bilabiate corollas about 1 cm across. These small but numerous flowers, set in a campanulate calyx, are formed of five pointed petals fused together to make a single lower lip. The central lobe is more elongated. Each flower contains a cluster of four prominent stamens, two of which protrude more than the others.

Teucrium hircanicum is notable for flowering in long violet spikes that can reach up to 20 cm in length.

Each of these delicate little flowers opens in shades ranging from pure white in Teucrium chamaedrys ‘Alba’ to lilac-pink and even the deep crimson of the Iranian germander, and more rarely yellow (Teucrium polium, Teucrium flavum), while the cultivar ‘Azureum’ stands out with bright blue flowers tinged with lavender.

This delicate, highly nectariferous and melliferous flowering lasts for many months and attracts pollinating insects.

Teucrium fruticans (photo Peganum) / Teucrium lucidrys / Teucrium chamaedrys ‘Alba’

Fruits consist of four achenes containing seeds that can naturalise via spontaneous self-seeding.

It is a Mediterranean plant that grows in full sun and tolerates poor soils, indispensable in dry gardens, and capable of withstanding short frosts of around -12°C.

Teucrium, notably the famous dwarf germander, has antiseptic and digestive therapeutic properties, and is also used to relieve rheumatism and headaches. Young leaves can be added to salads, and the plant is used to flavour liqueurs such as chartreuse and vermouth with its slightly bitter taste. Its dried flowering tops are consumed as an infusion.

Main species and varieties

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Teucrium fruticans Azureum - Tree Germander

With bright blue flowers, it is one of the loveliest varieties of shrubby germander. Ideal as a specimen in dry or coastal gardens, for hedging, in shrubby borders, as a focal plant and even in a container on a terrace. Responds very well to pruning, including topiary.

• Flowering time March to September
• Height at maturity 1,20 m

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Teucrium chamaedrys Alba - Germander

With a small bushy habit, white-yellow flowers and fine aromatic dark glossy green foliage that is almost evergreen, it will be wonderful in rockeries, in pretty borders or as low-maintenance low hedging.

• Flowering time July to September
• Height at maturity 30 cm

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Teucrium hircanicum - Germander

A robust, very hardy perennial germander with aromatic foliage and a more spectacular flowering than other species. A treasure for rockeries and dry gardens.

• Flowering time July to September
• Height at maturity 60 cm

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Teucrium x lucidrys

This perennial undershrub, very mat-forming, stands out for its long flowering in upright spikes. This small groundcover will grow on banks, on rockery slopes or at the edge of a low wall, from which it will tumble in a cascade.

• Flowering time July to October
• Height at maturity 30 cm

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Planting

Where to plant Teucrium?

Germander is a Mediterranean plant accustomed to dry, poor, calcareous soil. It is well equipped against drought and long hot, dry summers. Most Teucrium tolerate cold fairly well and withstand short frosts (down to -10°C to -12°C) once established. Teucrium fruticans, a little more tender (suffers from cold from -5°C), prefers regions with mild winters; in our coldest and wettest regions, grow it in a pot and overwinter frost-free.

It likes full sun, which will enhance silvery colour of foliage on some species and intensify its scent.

Native to arid regions, it prefers stony, poor, dry, calcareous soil in which it grows best, but will also accept any good garden soil provided it is very well drained: it dislikes waterlogged soil in winter, in which case it will be hard to get through winter. In heavy soil, grow it on an embankment or in a raised bed.

This undershrub or small perennial is a good plant for dry sites where it forms pretty bright green or silvery tufts. It has its place in natural gardens or as a windbreak in coastal gardens as it does not fear sea spray.

Smaller species will grow on dry embankments, on rockery slopes, in crevices of an old stone wall in the most barren areas of the garden and even in pots.

Shrubby germanders are ideal in informal or clipped hedges and in shrub beds. They are well suited to topiary pruning.

When to plant Teucrium?

Plant Teucrium in spring from February to May depending on region when temperatures rise, or in autumn from September to November in warm climates.

How to plant Teucrium?

In open ground

For creeping species allow 5 plants per m². For shrubby germander, 1 plant per m² is sufficient.

• Dig a hole 2 to 4 times wider than the rootball
• Aerate the soil well
• Lighten with coarse sand
• Spread a 10 cm layer of gravel at bottom of planting hole
• Plant, backfill
• Firm slightly
• Water generously then moderately without flooding the roots

Teucrium hircanicum with grasses

In pots

Teucrium can also be grown in pots on a terrace or balcony, to overwinter frost-free in the wettest regions. The substrate must be very free-draining to avoid stagnant moisture at the roots: do not leave water in saucers.

• Spread a good drainage layer (gravel or clay balls) at bottom of pot
• Plant in a mix of equal parts sand and potting compost for Mediterranean plants
• Water at planting then sparingly
• In cold areas, store the pot for winter and bring it out in spring

Maintenance, pruning and care

Teucrium is an undemanding plant requiring very little attention and ideal for a low‑maintenance weekend garden. Water for first two months after planting to encourage rooting, then only during prolonged drought and always sparingly, as it is accustomed to long arid summers typical of Mediterranean climate. Once well rooted, let nature take its course!

Deadhead faded flowers regularly to encourage new blooms and extend flowering. Allow a few flowerheads to set seed to enable sowing the following year.

For potted germanders, ensure more regular watering, always allowing substrate to dry out between waterings.

For this undemanding plant, no fertiliser is necessary.

Monitor volunteer seedlings, often numerous; remove or replant them as desired.

In regions with harsh, wet winters, bring the most tender teucrium, such as Teucrium fruticans, inside or otherwise protect from frost and rain, and put back out as temperatures rise in spring. Repot every two or three years or top‑dress each spring with compost.

Unaffected by disease, teucrium have no pests.

Discover more tips to care for perennials and protect your plants from cold.

When and how to prune?

Pruning teucrium is the only real maintenance. Annual pruning is recommended to maintain a neat, compact habit. Annual cuts in late winter and in summer prevent development of old wood. If left unpruned, germander readily develops a scruffy outline. It lends itself very well to shearing into a ball like boxwood or to topiary. We therefore recommend two prunings:

1. In spring, shear back the largest young shoots to even out the clump, prune fairly short and remove all dead wood
2. Just after flowering, remove faded flowers with a tidy‑up prune by cutting just below the flowerhead

Every four years, rejuvenate the oldest plants by cutting back hard to three buds above the stump; they will regrow vigorously!

Propagation

Germander multiplies easily in June by herbaceous cuttings or by semi-ripe cuttings in July–August, by sowing in spring with mature seeds harvested in the garden in autumn or by layering for shrubby species, a more tedious operation.

Taking cuttings of Teucrium

• Take heel cuttings 5 to 10 cm long
• Remove leaves from lower half of stem
• Insert cuttings two-thirds into seed tray or into buckets in a well-draining mix of equal parts potting compost and sand
• Keep in partial shade and water regularly until rooting, which is fairly quick
• In winter, protect cuttings from frost under a cold frame
• Plant out permanently the following spring
• Pinch young shoots to encourage bushier growth
• Water well during first year after planting

Sowing

• Under cover in February–March, sow seeds in seed tray containing good seed compost and sand
• Cover seeds lightly with compost
• Firm down and keep moist until germination
• Keep sowings in light
• Prick out seedlings into individual buckets when sturdy enough to handle
• Plant out when temperatures have risen
• Pinch young stems to encourage branching

By layering

• In spring, bend down a low branch
• Remove leaves from that part of stem
• Lay it in a mix of garden soil, turf and sand
• Bury it so it can root
• In September, cut rooted layers using a pruning shear
• Pot up each shoot into a bucket in a mix of potting compost and sand
• Overwinter under a cold frame
• Following spring, plant out in garden in well-drained soil

Combining germander in the garden

Germander is a plant accustomed to long hot periods and naturally finds its place in dry gardens and natural gardens where sun reigns supreme, in a scree garden or rockery alongside drought‑tolerant plants and other Mediterranean perennials.

Teucrium fruticans, with its somewhat scruffy habit, will do well in a loose or clipped hedge in company with summer‑flowering bushes as frugal as it is: escallonia, vitex, Australian rosemary, Cistus, Althéa. In a natural border, you can create a lush summer scene by pairing it with shrubby lavateras, Caryopteris, hollyhocks, drought‑tolerant euphorbias, Achillea millefolium, Nepeta, and a few clumps of Stipa tenuifolia and Stipa pennata. The silver foliage of Teucrium fruticans ‘Azureum’ will be echoed by the attractive grey leaves of Artemisia, santolinas or Helichrysum italicum.

An example of a natural pairing: Teucrium hircanicum and Achillea ‘Cerise Queen’, Cirsium rivale ‘Atropurpurea’, Echinacea purpurea, Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Blackfield’, Verbena bonariensis and Allium sphaerocephalon

In a rockery evoking garrigue, small germanders will keep company with other undemanding, drought‑tolerant plants such as creeping rosemary, Helichrysum petiolare, Perovskia, woody thymes, sages, small potentillas, and sedums.

Elles formeront aussi de jolies bordures aromatiques, mariées à des lavandes. Les fleurs bleues ou violettes des germandrées font bon mariage avec des petits géraniums vivaces ou encore à l’Echinops ritro et offriront un joli contraste avec le jaune complémentaire des fleurs de coreopsis et des Hélianthèmes.

Mat‑forming species can also cover base of Ceanothus or buddleia and of Mediterranean bushes such as creeping broom, olive, mimosa, cistus and lantanas, as well as small dry‑soil bushes such as Hertia cheirifolia and Hypericum olympicum.

→ Discover more ideas for pairing Teucrium in our advice sheet!