Could it be Lepechinia hastata? (Also wrongly known as Lepechinia salviae.)

robinmi - that's it!!!!!!!! No wonder the flowers didn't look quite right to me. Thank you!!!!!!!

I second that. Lepechinia hastata is hardy in North Carolina, and even half-hardy at lest in middle New Jersey. Amazing, since it is from both Hawaii and Pacific coastal Mexico (though up in the hills).

Lepechinia graveolens of Argentina is also hardy in North Carolina, but is a big bush with dense cymes of small white flowers and purplish calyxes. It would probably make a good late season honeybee plant.

I need to find out how hardy L. bella and L. chamaedryoides are in North Carolina.

In England, Lepechinia bella is less hardy than L. hastata. I grow it in a large pot, and keep it frost-free in the winter. Though it survived once outside. It is truly stunning, and is a compact and tidy shrub. Seeds are usually available from Seedhunt. It seems more happy in partial shade.

I don't grow L. hastata currently......lack of space maybe? I did try L. chamaedryoides, but it never flowered here, and was very untidy.

Last year I obtained seeds of the rare Argentinian Salvia lorentzii...from a dubious source in North Wales (NOT Crug), and was very interested as seeds germinated quickly. It began to look less and less like a Salvia....turned out to be Lepechinia graveolens, rather weedy, and I am not going to keep this!

Robin.

bhnash, did that volunteer in your garden, or did you plant it? I like it! Expect hummingbirds. :) Some Lepechinias are native to California.

voodoobrew - I took the pic at the Cabrillo College Hort. Center yesterday. I will be growing it!

Interesting looking plant, I'm going to have to have a few I think.

How do they propagate? Cuttings, seeds?

Seedhunt.com sells seeds to a few Lepechinias (and lots of salvias).

Here is a link that might be useful: Seedhunt seeds