Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants

ShrubsTrees

Leucosceptrum canum

Evergreen shrub or small tree about 1.5-7m tall, usually multi-stemmed, with ascending branches and greyish-green, papery leaves, white-woolly beneath, to 30cm long. Creamy-white flowers in dense, cylindrical spikes to 15cm long, produced from late autumn to early spring, followed by brown fruits. Good nectar source for birds, butterflies and bees

Save to My plants

Buy this plant

Plant nurseries
2 suppliers

Ultimate height

4–8 metres

Time to ultimate height

5–10 years

Ultimate spread

2.5–4 metres

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Well–drained

pH

Acid, Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun

Aspect

South–facing or West–facing

Exposure

Sheltered

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

Botanical details

Family: Lamiaceae
Native to GB / Ireland: No
Foliage: Evergreen
Habit: Bushy
Genus: A genus of just one species of evergreen flowering shrubs or small trees, with toothed, green foliage and tall spikes of white to pale pink or greenish-yellow flowers in summer to autumn
Name status: Unresolved

How to grow

Cultivation

In milder and frost-free areas, grow in well-drained soil, in full sun in a warm, dry position such as a courtyard or against a south-facing or west-facing wall; in frost-prone areas, grow in a cool or temperate greenhouse, in a mix of peat-free potting compost and grit, in full light and low humidity. Water moderately during the growing season and sparingly in winter

Propagation

Propagate by semi-ripe cuttings in summer

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Coastal
Cottage and informal garden
Mediterranean climate plants
Wildlife gardens

Pruning

Pruning group 8

Pests

Generally pest-free

Diseases

Generally disease-free

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.