The Wall Germander, otherwise known as the Teucrium Chamaedrys or Ground Oak, Horse Chive, Wild Germander, is a rather well known perennial plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this perennial will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, taking care of your Wall Germander is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Wall Germander Care Guide. Now let’s get started.
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Wall Germander are the following:
- Water: The Wall Germander requires water once a week, but more during the hot seasons. Slow down on watering once the plant is established.
- Light: Keep your Teucrium Chamaedrys in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Wall Germander in soil with well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, chalk, and loam.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Wall Germander this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Wall Germander belongs to the Lamiaceae family, the genus Teucrium and the species Chamaedrys, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Teucrium Chamaedrys.
As with other Teucrium’s, the Wall Germander is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Wall GermanderMediterranean areas of Europe and Middle East and Africa.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Wall Germander. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Teucrium Chamaedrys will be most used to regions where the plant hardiness level falls between 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a and the ideal climate zone is between 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Wall Germander is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Wall Germander? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Teucrium Chamaedrys can grow up to 10″ – 1′ (25cm – 30cm) in 10″ – 1′ (25cm – 30cm) and 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) in 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm).
These dimensions make the Wall Germander a relatively medium perennial compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful compact shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 24″ (60cm) free so the Wall Germander can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Wall Germander is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Teucrium Chamaedrys requires water once a week, but more during the hot seasons. Slow down on watering once the plant is established.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively low needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Wall Germander in soil with well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Wall Germander since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Wall Germander prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, chalk, and loam.
This is why most experts agree that the Wall Germander requires soil with sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably neutral to alkaline soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Wall Germander requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this perennial will do well as long as you keep it in full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Teucrium Chamaedrys in full and direct sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Wall Germander will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
You can expect your Wall Germander to flower around the summer months from July to September (summer).
In particular, this perennial is well known for its flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Wall Germander produces some beautiful purplish-pink, or pink and purple/lavender flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Wall Germander have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Teucrium Chamaedrys to be around (< 1 inch) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Wall Germander is well known for its tolerance to dry soil, drought and animals like deer and rabbit, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Teucrium Chamaedrys will be fine.
Garden
Does your Wall Germander have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Teucrium Chamaedrys owners agree that this perennial will look great in most mediterranean, cottage and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of coastal garden, informal and cottage, city and courtyard, gravel and rock garden, and in mediterranean garden styles.
In particular, the Wall Germander’s best location within your garden is in ground covers, beds and borders, edging, and in patio and containers, others use it for landscaping in a container, hedge, border, cutting garden, or a rock garden.
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Wall Germander to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
