Greek Mountain Tea, South (Sideritis syriaca), packet of 20 seeds, Organic
$4.95
Family: Mint (Lamiaceae)
Hardy to Zones 7 to 10
(South Greek Mountain Tea, Ironwort) Woody perennial growing to 18 inches, native to Kriti, Lebanon-Syria and Turkey. 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
In stock
Julia –
It’s a joy to grow this in my garden! My family is from Crete, where this is a beloved wild tea herb (“malotira” or “tsai tou vounou” — tea of the mountains) and I’d always bring home bundles in my suitcase when visiting. I grew several plants from your seeds a few years ago, and they are thriving in my Northern California garden! Beautiful and ornamental as well as deeply grounding and nourishing — the scent calls me back. Thank you for making these seeds available!
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Jess V (verified owner) –
I looked all over for Greek Mountain Tea seeds and couldn’t believe the variety Strictly Medicinal had. Ordered these two years ago, started them indoors, had a high germination rate, and they transplanted to the outdoors beautifully. I only lost one or two of the smaller plants. Two years on, they spread by themselves, flower regularly, and the tea is exactly what I hoped for. Thank you!
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kirstie.stramler (verified owner) –
I was given this tea to treat a tummy ache some 20 years ago while visiting Greece. I am so happy to be growing it now! I had a busy late winter so allowed them become shockingly root bound in 2 gallon containers, but it is a forgiving plant, and after pruning and a month in a 15 gallon container, each plant is nearly 2 feet across and has several dozen spikes with blooms about to open.
I am wondering, do any of you folks how to know how to identify when to harvest seeds from my gorgeous happy mountain tea plants?
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Kristen Davenport –
I found these hard to germinate, but I also found them to be much hardier than a z. 7 … these plants overwintered in my Rocky Mountain garden (in theory a z. 4b, but let’s be realistic, we haven’t had more than a 5b winter in years thanks to climate change) for several winters. They died out due to drought, but they also don’t care to have wet feet for too long in the winter, sorta like lavender.
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julie –
Purchased plants, sited in the unheated greenhouse, zone 5, have been mostly fine. We had a cold winter a few years ago, down to -15, which killed all the Hill’s Hardy rosemary planted next to it, this died back some, but survived. It is starting to reseed.
The scent of this is one of my favorites on earth, and it makes a wonderful mild tea.
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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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