Greek Mountain Tea (Sideritis syriaca), packet of 20 seeds
$3.95
Family: Mint (Lamiaceae)
Hardy to Zones 7 to 10
(Sideritis scardica) ) Woody perennial growing to 18 inches, native to the mountains surrounding the Mediterranean sea, especially the Peloponnese. A comely plant, highly desired for those of us blessed with hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. Tea of dried flowering tops is sweetish and pleasant. Traditional usage (TWM): colds and restless insomnia. Plant prefers full sun and very fast draining soil of raised bed or rockery, needing water to establish but drought tolerant once established. Plant prefers full sun. In the spring or anytime in warm soils, scarify seed on medium grit sandpaper, then sow in pots or flats. Barely cover, tamp well and keep warm, evenly moist and in the light until germination, which occurs in about 10 days. Individuate seedlings to gallon pots and grow until sufficiently sized to transplant successfully to garden or landscape. Space plants 18 inches apart.
20 seeds per packet, Certified Organically Grown
Allegra –
This plant has so many advantages I hardly know where to begin:
Soft, velvety, bluish-white foliage with odd curving flower spikes of soft yellow that attract all manner of small pollinators — a beautiful perennial white-foliage plant
Exceptional drought tolerance
Flowers make a pleasant, relaxing tea
Spreads beautifully over the ground and seems easy to please as to soil (I have it in a fast-draining, coarse soil w/ a pH of 7.5); cascades over the side of raised beds
Blooms all year in zone 9, and very heavily in late spring and summer.
It forms low, dense clumps with a nice understory where I have found hordes of spiders hunting other denizens of the dark. For those with a naturalist bent it’s a fascinating laboratory but in any case providing a sheltered spot for spiders in the garden is always a good idea.
I have found literally no downside to this plant. Other than dead-heading the flower spikes occasionally I give it as little care as any plant I’ve ever grown. I water it once a month or so from June to September and don’t fertilize it at all now that the plants are fully established. It gives a lot and asks for very little in return.
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