It's really a small shrub from a Mediterranean habitat rather than a herbaceous perennial. Common name Cotton Lavender (or Lavender Cotton for some people.) Likes sun, warmth and good drainage. Don't feed and don't water once it's established. Responds well to a close clip over after flowering. Some clip it before flowering because the blooms don't really add much to the appearance. Pretty common in reality so somehow it just evaded you thus far.

Mine grows in a gravel bed, nothing added, clipped in spring. I think it is S. chamcyparissus Edward Bowel. It has pale flowers, but hardly ever flowers, I reckon it wants some older stalks to produce buds. But I like it anyway and grow it manly for its lovely grey-ish foliage. Some other S are dark green with bright yellow flowers. Mine take some frost and snow and I think well draining soil is very important for them.

That pic is of my small gravel bed in front of our flat, Santolina is the grey-ish mound between the Salvias. If you have full sun, go for it, bye, Lin

I have 2 of them - one has very pale, glaucous foliage (pinnata sub.sp neapolitanus) while the other is a deeper green with brighter yellow button-like flowers (S.incana?) It is usual to cut the little flowers off (they are frequently kept tightly trimmed, practically topiaried) but I like to leave mine - they do grow well in poor dry soil, full sun, and do well with lavender and thymes. Like lavenders, it does need shearing back every season (and you can cut quite hard to keep it neat). It also makes quite a good hedging plant (a substitute for box). Not spectacular but a deeply useful and versatile shrub for a mediterranean type climate.

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This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 3:44