Description
Comptonia peregrina
CT DR P
Soil: Sandy, Acidic, Well-drained
Moisture: Average to Dry
Light: Full to Part Sun
Plant Height: 2 to 5 feet
Plant Width: 4 to 8 feet
Pests: None
Landscape Value: Great for areas with poor soil, such as along roads. Good for naturalized areas where it can be left to colonize. Great for stabilizing slopes and embankments.
Easy-to-grow, deciduous shrub with narrow, olive-green leaves that have fern-like divisions and rolled back edges. Leaves are highly aromatic when crushed. Yellow-brown flowers appear in spring on separate male and female catkins. Female flowers give rise to one to four brown, edible nutlets enclosed in a bur-like husk. Once established, spreads rapidly to form dense, flat-topped colonies. Tolerates drought, wind, wet soils, and poor or infertile soils. Fixes its own nitrogen. Attracts birds, butterflies, and moths. Larval host to grey hairstreak butterflies and several species of moths. Leaves can be used, fresh or dried, to make tea.
1 gallon pot
