Good in small areas; good drought tolerance. Used in dried arrangement, potpourris and as an accent plant. Highly salt tolerant; avoid excess fertilization; prune after flowering. Branches are erect or ascending, gray-green-brown, densely white-tomentose at first. Leaves are very small and appear 3-dimensional, not flat. The odor is strong and distinctive. Santolina chamaecyparissus blooms in summer; peduncles should be removed after flowering completely. Santolina chamaecyparissus is good for short term use in landscape (10-15 yrs) as center opens up with age. S. rosmarinifolia is similar, but green with lighter color in flowers. It is utilized as groundcover in massing, edging beds, planters, rock gardens, rock walls, on pure sand. It is used in folk medicine for digestive problems and as antiseptics. Quick ID Dwarf aromatic, grayish-tomentose shrub Leaves 3-D pinnatifid or pinnatisect Elongate peduncles with heads of yellow flowers in summer
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Sand
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry | Very Dry
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in. | Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Broad; Rounded
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Broadleaf Evergreen
Leaf color
Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Pinnatisect
Leaf margin
Dentate
Leaf value
Fragrant
Leaf size
< 1 inch long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Leaves are alternate, crowded, densely grey to white-tomentose, densely pectinate-dentate to pinnatisect, segments to 2 mm long. Leaves are aromatic when crushed.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Gray/Silver; White
Flower value
Good Dried; Showy
Flower form
Head
Flower shape
Tubular
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Inflorescence are numerous, each a head on elongate 10-15 cm peduncles well above foliage, discoid, hemispherical (button-shaped), to 2 cm diam.; borne from new seasonal growth. Flowers are tubular, deep golden yellow. Yellow button-shaped heads in summer on new growth.