Teucrium fruticans Topiary balls

A clipped ball is the same plant as the species. South Australia's Plant Selector gives it full sun to part shade, well-drained soil and minimal supplementary watering, and lists it as tolerating drought and moderate frost; Auckland Botanic Gardens wants free-draining soil in full sun and finds it good for hot, dry and windy spots. On keeping the shape, the Missouri Plant Finder says the plant's habit can be somewhat leggy but that it takes pruning and shearing well, and Auckland Botanic Gardens trims plants to maintain shape and stimulate new growth, a few times a year, which it says encourages bushy growth. No reference read gives care for a ball grown in a pot.

The Missouri Plant Finder lists containers among the species' uses, the RHS courtyard and coastal gardens, and the Selector informal hedging and borders. A ball is the clipped form of the same shrub. For hedges and screens of the unclipped shrub, its flowers and foliage, and the full account of the plant, see the species page. No reference read gives a planting density for clipped balls; Auckland Botanic Gardens plants the unclipped shrub at about 0.75 to 1 m spacing.

The listings on this page show the sizes growers list; no reference read gives a size or a planting density for a clipped ball. The species is an exotic from the western Mediterranean, and no reference read records it as naturalised in Australia. The RHS marks it potentially harmful if eaten. For roots, pests and hardening off, see the guide to nursery plant quality, and stock crossing a state border travels under the state and territory biosecurity rules on moving plants and soil.