Hi there! I am in Livermore, CA and planted Wooly Blue Curls in my front yard last fall. From my experience, this is one of those plants that needs great drainage and prefers less water. I am guessing you may have given it more water than it would have liked. When I planted mine in October, I watered it in really well and left it alone until the end of April. Since then I have watered it only twice. This ensures that the soil has a chance to dry out. This plant will grow in a sidewalk crack, which tells you just how durable it really is. If your plant doesn't make it, I would try again and just cut back on the water, since it really prefers dry soil rather than wet soil. Good luck!

Ive decided to try again with this plant because I enjoyed it so much. But as for culture I will keep your comment in mind -- that it is capable of growing in a sidewalk crack!

I Part of me would like the challenge of trying again with the native, but if I come across 'Midnight Magic' first, I'll probably go for it. Thanks for the great tip.

You might be able to find it at the Botanical Garden in Berkeley during one of their native plant sales. Next one is in the Fall (October, I think).

http://www.nativeplants.org

Echolane, out of blissful ignorance the first natives I tried were 1 gallon Woolly Blue Curls! By some miracle the first set survived, then tried more and it has been hit or miss but when planted late spring 100% failure vs planting in fall. A gorgeous big one just died (think a windy bad storm split his trunk deep from which he never recovered). They have flowers almost all the time, and their fragrance is amazing. They seem to like their base surrounded by a few big large rocks, and tuck their fallen purple flower "netting" around the base. Have some in gravel mulch and some in just dirt, none in gorilla hair. Occasionally trim back for their branches can get leggy. I mistakenly watered right on their stem when establishing so a few of mine have weak trunks which can easily split in wind. Give them a chance; some shaky candidates can recover and it takes awhile to get going.

I live in hot east inland San Diego foothills, not at all like the SF Bay Area. I too watered some before this heat wave and they look bad. Yours probably got way too much water or did not dry out enough.

Gyr_falcon, where did you find your Midnight Magic?

Thanks sbirdy , am determined to try again.

Midnight available via Annie's Annuals, though not right now.

Also, the wholesalers, San Marcos Growers and Suncrest list it, so if your local nursery does business with one or the other, you're in luck.

I bought mine from The Plant Depot in San Juan Capistrano. But they don't often have it in stock.

I got mine from Theodore Payne in the fall about 9 yrs ago. Natives need water for at least a year to establish roots. Don't remember how long I watered mine for. Its at the top of the slope and no sprinklers nearby. Its about 5 feet wide and 4 feet tall and actually I think looks better than the one at Descanso. It does fade in color a bit in the fall. Fall planting for natives really is needed for better success.

No idea how well they survive in pots but possibly should have been left in pot and planted this fall. The growers grow in pots before selling for probably a year or 2.

I love this plant and I planted three 15 plus years ago, when I didn't know that they were temperamental. I still have one of the originals going strong, the other two succumbed to mailman trampling when he would cut through my yard! I bought a new one two years ago that is blooming quite well. I would only plant this species in the fall and water sparingly through the first two summers. To ensure it gets a great root system going, test the soil moisture and water in the winter time when the moisture is about 2-3 on a ten-point scale moisture meter. Then in the summer time, just spray off the leaves every month or so (see Las Pilitas), but only when the weather is cool--never during a heat wave. This method works well for many chaparral plants like Cleveland sage. Coastal plants can take more summer water.

Do try it again, it's such a beautiful plant. And a one gallon would be better and cheaper. Once you get it going, we can talk about propagating it.....

Go see Woolly Blue Curls growing in the wild at Pinnacles National Park

Sustainable, you are my garden hero!!! I am killing all my chaparral native plants especially all the sages during this heat wave spell. The "first year getting established" bunch almost never survives the first summer.

Can you tell me how to propagate woollies? And mine are very leggy and need a trim but having difficult time finding "when" to trim, especially since they always seem to bloom.

Also wondered where they were "wild" so thanks for that, although Pinnacles is a hike from me it looks like location is more inland which would explain why mine are growing.

After killing a few in our Almaden Valley's (south San Jose) heavy soil (even despite mounding for better drainage), we opted for pots with sharp-draining soil ... and they've done very well for three years now! We water them a little on summer mornings or evenings when the begin to shrivel up, and they perk up.

i sell both the native Trichostema lanatum and the hybrid Trichostema 'Midnight Magic' at my nursery in Oakland - East Bay Wilds. We almost always have at least one of them, and often both [like now]. They are both beautiful plants, but the beauty of the hybrid pales in comparison to a really happy T. lanatum! Did you know that these are our native rosemaries? They are even used in cooking in mexico - much sweeter and fruitier than the Mediterranean rosemary. Once, i found a white-flowering one in the central California coastal range. I usually tell people to plant T. lanatum at the beginning of the rains and don't water it again, but if it's in a particularly hot/dry area, i tell people to water it from nearby - place a slowly dribbling hose about 3-4 ft from the stem and leave it there for 15-20 min - when the weather is cool, and no more than once/month. Start with a very vigorous plant and your chances of it thriving are much higher. Have you ever smelled it's annual cousin - Trichostema lanceolatum - Vinegarweed?

East Bay Wilds, your woollies are gorgeous! (and all your other photos on this forum too :) Thanks for the tip on how to water them. Do you have any suggestions for when to prune them when they become too leggy?

i'd say the best time would be a very dry day in winter. or just after a flush of growth, but on a dry day anytime.

Pruning Woolly blue curls, I usually dead head as needed. They are so brittle, you don't even need clippers, just do it with your hands. Then in the fall I take off some more, about 1/3 just like with chaparral sages, so they don't get too leggy.

I am not an expert on propagating them, but have had some success with taking cuttings in the fall (after pruning), a little rooting hormone, and then place them in pure perlite. Keep everything nice and sterile as you do this as they are so susceptible to fungus. I don't even cover the pot, but you could mist them, and water the perlite when it the pot feels light. Hope this helps!

Thank you both so much! Your tips will help me and others enjoy success with this amazing California native plant.

they take quite a long time to root. i use rooting hormone #2 and 3 with equal success - i still lose a fair amount of the cuttings to fungus before they root. i always take cuttings in winter - at the first flush of new growth. i get about 50-60% take at that time.