Spacing & sowing

Plant spacing

8 ft 2 in

In-row spacing

8 ft 2 in

Between rows

10 ft 3 in

Square-foot density

Not suited to SFG

Growing

Type

Shrub · Perennial

Botanical family

Mixed / other

Sunlight

Full sun; a south or west-facing wall is ideal.

Watering

Drought-tolerant once established, and easily overwatered.

Feeding

Feeds itself — it fixes its own nitrogen, so leave the fertilizer alone.

Frost tolerant

Yes

Flowering

May

Pruning

Trim after flowering, and never cut into old bare wood.

Through the year

• Mar–Mar Bud Break
• Mar–May Spring Growth
• May–Jul Flowering
• Jul–Dec Growing
• Jan–Mar Growing

Companions

Lavender, Rosemary, Cistus

Pests & problems

• Scale insects Immobile brown or white bumps fixed to stems and leaf undersides, sucking sap and weakening growth. Wipe off with a damp cloth or dab with horticultural soap; watch for the sooty mold that follows.
• Honey fungus A fatal root disease of woody plants: white fungal sheets under the bark and honey-colored toadstools at the base. Remove the plant with as much root and stump as possible.
• Frost damage Frost damage on the evergreen kinds

Garden allies

Beneficial predators that hunt this plant's pests — grow their favourite flowers nearby to recruit them. ★ companion plant

• Hoverfly Syrphidae
  Hunts Scale insects

  Bee-mimicking flies whose legless larvae graze aphid colonies clean while the adults pollinate. A ribbon of shallow, nectar-rich flowers kept in bloom all season recruits wave after wave of them.

  Plant nearby CalendulaChamomileFennelFrench marigoldPhaceliaSweet alyssum
• Ladybird (lady beetle) Coccinellidae
  Hunts Scale insects

  The gardener’s favorite ally: adults and their alligator-shaped larvae each eat thousands of aphids, plus scale, mealybugs, and other soft-bodied sap-suckers. Grow flat, open flowers for the adults and never spray a colony that ladybird larvae are already working.

  Plant nearby CalendulaCilantroCosmosDillFennelYarrow