Clinopodium Species, Georgia Calamint

I planted 2 Georgia Calamintha (Georgia Savory) in the first week of September 2014 along my front sidewalk leading to the front porch fa...Read Morecing southwest. The areas receives full sun from 11:30am -5:00pm in spring & summer & from 12:30pm-3:30pm in fall and winter. The soil was/is very sandy & slightly amended with Black Kow Composted Manure.

The plants were about a foot tall and wide when I first planted them in Sept of 2014 and full of tiny lavender/white flowers. Although I planted them in early September, temps were still in the high 80's during the day and they never wilted. I water them daily for a few weeks until the weather grew colder and then only watered them about twice a week.

They survived our 20F-40F degree winter days with no trouble, although I did cover them with frost protection blankets when temps hit 32 and lower during the day or night, especially if accompanied by strong wind and rain. They survived the winter unscathed.

They grew well and were about 2 feet wide and 1 1/2 feet tall. I watered them deeply about twice a week due to a relatively dry summer. In July, some branches were beginning to lay down, rather than stand upright, and the middle was open. While new growth was coming from the middle, they looked bare. After researching the internet for the cause, I read the "openness in the middle" is caused by either too rich of soil, which I knew was not the problem, or too much water. I thought maybe it was the latter, so I only watered once a week and that resulted in even more center branches flopping.

So, I dug down around one of the bushes root ball & it was bone dry and decided to soak the heck out of them 3 times a week. After the 1st soaking, I noticed branches were slowly perking up & continued to get perkier after the 2nd and 3rd weekly soaking. Mind you, weekly temps were in the 90's with heat index above 100 and little supplemental rain. So, in my case, flopping branches were due to not enough weekly watering. Apparently, the sandy soil drained too fast and the plants were thirsty. Other than the flopping, their leaves never yellowed or dropped.

They do take heat & humidity well, but I suggest if planting in really sandy soil like I have, for the first year, be sure to water deeply several times a week during the summer, less in winter. After the 1st year in the ground, they should be established enough to handle just a weekly watering.

They are beautiful plants, truly evergreen, and haven't been bothered by any pests, including deer. Whether you plan to use it in cooking or just to grow for fun and beauty, Georgia Savory is really easy to grow. It is beautiful when in flower and beautiful when not flowering.

I am a wholesale grower of butterfly perennials in south Alabama. Calamintha georgiana is one of my favorite native herbs. Not only doe...Read Mores it grow in full sun and full shade, it is also evergreen. I have personally seasoned several chicken dishes and drank tea made from this plant. It not only is aromatic but also very flavorful. This plant is extremely hardy, even when planted in sandy soil and made to withstand the heat of the southern beach weather. I have known this plant to have no insects nor diseases. I propagate by cuttings at nearly any time of the year using shade and no hormones. I have good success with cuttings as long as I don't forget to water one day. Cuttings do not like being dry at all. This is a hidden treasure!