Family Rutaceae
Originating from the USA and Mexico.
- Lush evergreen, aromatic foliage forms a dense and compact mound shape.
- Profuse white, scented flowers are produced in summer.
- Easy to grow in any soil in full sun.
An outstandingly compact and floriferous evergreen shrub, making a soft mound-shaped mass of dark green, aromatic palmate foliage. The leaves, which have broader and more lush palmate lobes than C. ‘Aztec Pearl’, have a spicy, zingy aroma if brushed. Its broader leaflets and tighter mound shape make it a better option than C. ‘Aztec Pearl’ for ground-covering positions amongst taller plants.
The foliage creates a perfect backdrop for the richly scented pure white flowers, so profuse they nearly obscure the leaves. The late spring and summer flowering display lasts for many weeks, followed by late summer sporadic flushes. The blooms have pure white petals arranged around a cluster of central golden anthers and appear at the tips of the branches in loose corymb-like masses. In bud their pinky calyces are conspicuous, giving them a two-toned colouration, once opened the blooms are much prized by pollinators.
It makes an outstanding performer for Mediterranean and English garden styles where it forms an excellent foil for more upright, spiky species. Its soft, compact form and dark glossy colour also make it a fantastic contemporary structural plant, perhaps forming repeated accents, making a striking contrast with steel or white-rendered hard landscape finishes.
Easy to grow in all but the heaviest wet soils and in pots in part shade or full sun, although it flowers more profusely and grows more densely in strong sun.
Height and spread after 5 – 10 years 1.2m x 1.2m
