Pronounciation: Cry-sac-TIN-e-a mex-i-KA-na

Hardiness zones
Sunset 10-13
USDA 8 (with protection)-11

Landscape Use: Spring accent subshrub for xeric and oasis landscape design areas. Variously used as an edging or massed together to create a large scale ground cover.

Form & Character: Low, rounded, dome like, spreading with age, clean, delicate, pungently sweet scented.

Growth Habit: Evergreen, semi-woody, short-lived perennial subshrub, slow to 18-inches tall with a 3-feet spread at maturity.

Foliage/Texture: Small, strongly aromatic, linear medium to dark green leaves, 1/4- to 1/2-inch long; fine texture

Flowers & Fruits: Small, 1 inch in diameter, yellow ray flowers born on a short stalk, fruit hairy, small, wind dispersed.

Seasonal Color: Masses of small yellow flowers mostly during spring.

Temperature: Has difficulty in tolerating temperatures above 110^oF; however, it is (by Phoenix standards) very cold tolerant.

Light: Full sun

Soil: Tolerant of many soil textures, but only as long as the soil is well drained.

Watering: Some supplemental watering during summer is needed. In Phoenix, irrigate carefully and judiciously during the hot summer.

Pruning: Very light shearing in fall to promote vigor.

Propagation: Seed

Disease and Pests: Root rot if soils are too moist and poorly drained, especially during summer. During the Phoenix summer it's a fine line between the water needed to counteract heat stress and root rot from chronically wet soil.

Additional comments: A somewhat popular small plant in the Phoenix area that is being used variously in small xeric border plantings as an edge plant or massed as a medium-scale ground cover. This is a plant that can be used in large open areas as a companion accent plant to other Phoenix landscape plants such as Convolvulus cneorum or Eremophila maculata 'Valentine'.

Aromatic uses: Damianita is a real sweet stinker!