Image: Brian Pyle @rancho_brian
 
(Cutting Grown)
Now, this doesn’t look very Gondwanan — you might be thinking I’ve been huffing the potting soil too long and forgot how to read a map. Possibly. But I’m down with Californian natives (or hybrids of them), and Trichostema × Midnight Magic is a winner I just had to grow. It’s a compact, rounded shrub with dark, minty (seriously minty) foliage and upright spikes of velvety purple flowers. It’ll bloom its socks off from spring into fall and is a magnet for hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies.
 
Thriving in full sun with well-drained soil, it’s drought-tolerant, low-maintenance, and a very garden-friendly selection — a cross between the California native Trichostema lanatum and the Mexican species Trichostema purpusii.
 
Flower Color: Purple
Bloomtime: Spring-Fall
Height: 3-4 feet
Width: 3-4 feet
Exposure: Sun
Soil Type: Good Drainage
Cold Tolerance: 26-28f
Irrigation requirements: Low