Green Germander

Teucrium chamaedrys

Green germander is a perennial Mediterranean herb that makes a great little groundcover, especially in dry areas of the landscape. It thrives in full sun, but can take a bit of shade, and needs very little supplemental irrigation, even in the hottest, driest of times.

Green germander stays very small, getting only about 12” tall and spreading to about as wide.

Hardy all the way down to zone 5, this shrubby groundcover is often evergreen in warmer climates. But even if it doesn’t die back in winter, green germander will perform better with a little early spring shearing to keep it in shape.

In the late spring or early summer, it forms lavender flowers, similar to most of its other relatives in the mint family. After it’s done flowering, green germander may get a little leggy, and if so, just shear it back about an inch or so, to encourage new growth. Regular shearing will make for a fuller, more robust plant, which will look much more attractive in the garden.

Green germander can tolerate all different types of soil, although it will perform best in well-drained, even rocky garden beds.