There’s no space in the garden for this wonderful santolina currently, so pots it is.
Rationale No. 1: Best to be prepared in case a plant in the garden should…die… (and open up a spot for one or both).
Rationale No. 2: Even with no space available, I couldn’t pass them up. They’re not often offered for sale.
Rationale No. 3: Wonderful used as vegetative punctuation marks, in or out of containers.
Rationale No. 4: A chartreuse, drought-tolerant subshrub is a rare thing.
Rationale No. 5: Clipping small plants, unlike hedges, is incredibly soothing, especially fragrant ones.
Rationale No. 6. They are chartreuse. Wrote that already.
Rationale No. 7. When they plump up a bit, there could conceivably be a spot available somewhere amongst these succulents and blue oat grass, Helictotrichon sempervirens. I’d love to see it against that grass. Hits the same note as the ‘Angelina’ sedum, but rotund instead of a mat.
That about sums it up.
Did I mention because they’re chartreuse?
Hi, Denise, congrats on your win (and awesome prize) in Dustin’s Best SoCal blog contest! …
And interestingly Santolina ‘Lemon Fizz’ is one of the possible answers to your “what’s the chartreuse blob” query on my blog post (check back for an answer to your question from the garden designer himself).
Reuben, somehow I don’t think the contest was definitive, but I’m taking the furcraea anyway!
Loree, I had no idea Rick had posted a followup. There has to be a word for this kind of bloggy synergy. I bought these santolinas a couple weeks ago. Rick seems like a great guy. I hope you catch up with him.
this is a great plant. I will need cuttings of these too.
Hi Denise,
I just bought this plant yesterday! I had never seen it before but had to try it too. I totally understand why you were smitten. Looking forward to seeing what it will be like this summer.
Love your garden, love your blog – beautiful photos! I’m in Melbourne, Australia, and finding Californian gardening blogs inspirational as the plants are very suitable for our similar climate.
i really like these! I have the regular Santolina and the yellow flowers just don’t look that great with the foliage, IMHO. I wonder how they’ll look with this foliage.
Dustin, I’m going to give you one of the pots to get cuttings from and give some of that Gimbel magic you work on plants.
Michael, what little research I did seems to suggest this is a fairly new introduction, like in the past two years.
Harlinah, so glad you found me so I could find you! Can’t wait to explore your blog. I’m surrounded by Australian plants!
Ryan, the flower color does seem to bug people. The green-leafed variety has the pale yellow flowers. I don’t mind either color but just want that nice, plump shape and hate it when they split open.
My copy had no vigor at all and did not survive.
This reminds me that I saw a Duranta repens in brilliant chartreuse the other day. Should have bought it.
I bought 3 last year at Annies … love them, though I see some signs of reversion. They live with Savia lyrata, and a purple-y leaed Robin Parer selection from a few years back–very stylish !
Just saw this and was “googling” what folks think – are you still happy with it (1. it lives 2. not too much reversion?).
Maggie, it still lives, now planted in the ground. No reversion so far.
I have one I think I bought 3 years ago – last year it bloomed. I have tried cuttings and failed. I have saved seeds and trying to grow more this spring. Anyone have experience?
How do you take cuttings of these lovely plants? What kind of soil?
Has anyone had success with cuttings?
Hi Judy — I haven’t done cuttings on santolina lately, but if I was going to it would be when there’s a big growth surge on, maybe early summer, 3-5 inches, strip the lower leaves, using sand or something like perlite as a medium. Keep in shade until rooted. I need this plant again! Thanks for the reminder.