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Teucrium fruticans 'Azureum' (Bush Germander) – Though smaller than the species, this cultivar still grows as a silver mound up to 4-5 feet tall and 5 feet wide but is often kept lower. It has leaves that are gray green above and silver white beneath, which gives the whole plant a silvery appearance. Deep blue flowers bloom at branch tips in the summer-fall.
It grows tighter in a sunny location but can be grown in light shade and is good in many soil types, so long as it has decent drainage and given only occasional irrigation. It is hardy to around 10 degrees F. This is a great plant for the informal mediterranean planting or sheared in a formal garden where it attracts bees and is resistant to deer predation.
Teucrium fruticans hails from dry sunny locations in western Europe from Portugal across southern Europe to the islands in the Adriatic Sea. The name for the genus has several possible derivations but most likely it is from the Greek name Teucer, a king of Troy, who is said to have used the plant medicinally. The specific epithet is the Latin word for "shrubby". This shrub was the winner of the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in 1993 and we have grown it continually since 1989.
The information displayed on this page about Teucrium fruticans 'Azureum' is based on the research we conducted about it in our nursery horticultural library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include some of our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.
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