Teucrium lucidrys Lucky Gold - Germander

Teucrium lucidrys 'Lucky Gold' is a low groundcover, with semi-evergreen young foliage that is cream-yellow and then pistachio green. Throughout the summer, it produces numerous small pink flowers in light clusters. Robust and hardy, it will bring brightness to your rockeries and dry borders! Give it a dry, limestone soil that is perfectly drained, in full sun.

Also called Germanders, Teucrium belongs to the Lamiaceae family. This family provides gardeners with many interesting plants, both in rockeries (thyme, rosemary...) and in semi-shade (bugles, dead nettles...). Teucrium lucidrys is a hybrid from cross-breeding two European species: Teucrium lucidum (shiny germander), a plant from arid areas in the Southeast, and T. chamaedrys (wall germander),  small groundcover that thrives in limestone soils. Their offspring has inherited their qualities: resistant and very hardy, it is an easy-to-grow plant that forms a carpet-like clump about 30 cm (12in) high and 50 cm (20in) wide, with small dentate and shiny leaves, evergreen if the winter is not too harsh. From June to September, this germander produces a profusion of slender stems with delicate pink flowers in upright clusters, much appreciated by pollinators (like many plants in this family).

The 'Lucky Gold' variety is distinguished by its cream-yellow emerging foliage, which then darkens as it grows to a beautiful pistachio green, and finally to a dark green at the end of the season. It benefits from being lightly pruned in early spring, in order to enhance its colour and maintain a dense and compact habit.

Given its origins, the Lucky Gold germander will appreciate a limestone soil, which is rather dry and not too rich, but above all very well-drained, in full sun. Excess moisture, particularly in winter, would cause its roots to rot. Its very bright foliage will brighten up your rockeries, dry slopes, or borders, along with, for example, Sedum Firecracker, whose purple foliage will contrast with it, Geranium sanguineum 'Max Frei', at the base of Gaura 'Corrie's Gold', or not far from grasses like Panicum 'Sangria' or Sporobolus heterolepis, which also thrive in similar environments. It is also very easy to cultivate in a pot, as long as good drainage is ensured.