Teucrium ackermannii - Germander

Teucrium ackermannii is one of those essential perennial plants in arid rock gardens and dry gardens: it forms charming little grey-silver cushions that are very floriferous from spring until late summer in the most difficult soils. In addition to its ornamental qualities, it is a groundcover plant that is both melliferous, decorative, evergreen in winter, hardy and perfectly adapted to summer drought. An authentic Mediterranean plant, its main enemy is winter wetness.

Teucrium ackermannii is a herbaceous perennial plant in the Lamiaceae family, related to lavenders, thymes and salvias. It is a natural hybrid of Teucrium cossonii and Teucrium montanum, two species native to the eastern Mediterranean basin. It is a low-growing and spreading herbaceous plant. Ultimately, it will reach a height of about 15 cm (6in) and spread over 40 to 50 cm (16 to 20in). The foliage, aromatic when crushed, is evergreen in winter. It consists of small narrow leaves with tiny rounded teeth, on very short internodes. These leaves, as well as the stems, are covered with a light grey to whitish felt-like coating with a silvery appearance. The flowering is particularly abundant in June, to the point where the vegetation disappears under the flowers. It can sporadically bloom throughout the summer in not too dry soil. In Mediterranean regions, it withers in July-August, but blooms again in September-October with the return of rain and cooler temperatures. The small two-lipped flowers are assembled in compact and erect spikes. Their colour is a dark pink-purple, they are rich in nectar and emit a sweet honey fragrance that attracts bees.

This little-known Teucrium ackermannii is a beautiful easy-to-grow rock garden plant, easy to associate with a variety of small plants in a dry garden: thymes, cistuses, lavenders, groundcovering artemisias, helichrysums, Euphorbia myrsinites, Teucrium marum or hircanicum, sedums, catananches... It also forms lovely borders, when paired with small perennial geraniums (Geranium sanguineum, Geranium macrorrhizum, Geranium renardii) or even with Echinops ritro.