How to Grow and Care for frankenia

Alkali seaheath (Frankenia salina) is a fairly rare, low-growing, woody bush found near beaches, estuaries, and salt marshes. It has adapted to living in salty habitats by being able to excrete salt through specialized glands. The sun dries the liquid and leaves crystals of salt on the leaves. This is a useful groundcover for saline soils.

Perennial plant with branches up to 40 cm, extended and forming bushes. Linear sheets, margins rolled, opposite, sometimes with a white bark. Purple flowers to whitish, solitary or inflorescences at the end of the stems and branches.

Hairy sea-heath is a perennial with lovely pink or violet blooms. It favors coastal habitats, growing on sandy and shingle terrain due to its tolerance to salt. The genus name, Frankenia, honors Jonah Franck, a Swedish botanist.

European sea heath (Frankenia pulverulenta) is both a halophytic (salt tolerant) and a xerophytic (aridity tolerant) species of shrub. These adaptations have made this heather-like plant a successful coastal species, hence the common name sea heath. However, efforts to introduce this plant to the inland saline environment of Salt Lake City, Utah have proved unsuccessful.