Trichostema

In general, I prefer species to hybrids for my garden. I want native southern California plants which to me means the species, subspecies or variety that is found in the wild. There are tons of hybrid manzanitas, Ceanothus, Salvia and others. I'm not saying they are terrible. I just prefer the straight species.

However, there is one genus where I think a hybrid is truly superior for the garden, and that is Trichostema. There are several species found in southern and central California. A species that is native to the coast and foothills from Baja to San Francisco and is commonly available in the nursery trade is lanatum.  It has beautiful flowers and a great fragrance because it is in the mint family. The flowers range in color from deep blue to lavender. The new buds are very furry and look fantastic. The foliage is deep green. The downside is that it has a reputation for being short-lived and tricky to grow, and I have found that to be true.

There is a hybrid that has been around for a few years that is a cross between lanatum and purpusii. The latter is from central Mexico. Despite being somewhat rare in the wild, it has a reputation for being easy to grow, especially in terms of tolerating summer water. Its flower color is pink, but the cross has a true blue flower. It lacks the furry buds of lanatum but is still a very attractive flower.

Last year I bought one from Moosa Creek Nursery to give it a try, and it has performed well. It's in a bed with some Diplacus sp. with both red and yellow flowers, making a nice color combo. We were gone for 2 months this summer. When we got home the Trichostema looked dead, but I didn't give up on it. With some water in mid-August it came right back and is flowering now. I still love T. lanatum but I'm not going to waster any more time and money trying to grow it when this hybrid is so much easier.