Sea Lavender
Tournefortia gnaphalodes
Beautiful blue masses of sea lavender are found naturally along the coast from Key West to Brevard County. Sea Lavender is a member of the Borage family that contains chemicals in its leaves and white flowers that several male butterfly species use to attract their mates.
The rotting leaves release these chemicals. Several male queen and soldier butterflies may gather to drink these chemicals off of the foliage.
Hang a bundle of stems from a window. Moisten the dead leaves and watch for feeding butterflies. Try this for a kids birthday party. The seeds are hard and inedible.
Although it looks as if this plant grows in dry soil, it is actually just over the water table drinking away. To plant inland, enrich the soil with plenty of organic matter and finely ground lime rock and cover the surface with black plastic and mulch.
This will recycle the moisture. It loves growing over the septic drain field if you have one. It will not tolerate flooding.
A mass of Sea Lavender is impressive. Try mixing with native Scaevola, Porterweed, Sea Purslane, Beach Elder, Chapman’s Cassia, Key Lily, Buccaneer Palm, all of the Thrinax Palms, Beach Grasses, Bay Cedar and Beach Cocoplum.
I have found that it can be tricky to find just the right spot for this plant. It seems that deep, rich, well drained soils with coarse sand that allows plenty of aeration and lots of organic matter works best.
Irrigation once a week may be needed to keep them looking good. Don’t waste water on it if the plants look fine without it. Always leave plenty of leaves when pruning, the plant will die if cut back to stubs.