Frank, coincidentally I was just remarking to my wife about our lion's tail plant. It looks exactly like yours. It is also on a drip, gets adequate water in fast draining sandy soil, and full sun. We are just up the 210 from you in La Crescenta. It is all sticks and just sat there for most of the summer with little new growth, only started blooming a few weeks ago.

Kent, interesting. Actually we had two blooms this year -- an early one in, I'm going to say, April-May? And then, like you, just sitting there most of the summer with little growth, with a second bloom a few weeks ago. But definitely not as bushy as we were hoping for.

L. leonurus is well-known for getting leggy as years go by. Some people grow L. menthifolia instead because it tends to keep foliage to the ground; trade-off is slightly less showy flowers. Low pruning in the spring helps L. leonurus for a while, but many gardeners just replace the plant with a fresh one when it starts showing its age.

I would agree gyr, mine seemed to have one good year, followed by one marginal year and now a pointless year. I've decided that my experience with it is similar to kangaroo paws in my garden, they don't seem to be viable for more than a couple of years and I'm moving on with other plants.

The kangaroo paws do that in my yard, too, kentc. After three years, they are done (although year 2 is the best for those). I love the tall ones, but the frequent replacement drives me nuts. I've tried dividing to revitalize, but they don't seem to take.

I revitalize my L. menthifolia by allowing a few seedlings to grow, then yank the parent about 3 years in. It isn't wild with the seedlings and they usually sprout close by, so it doesn't become a problem that way. But I like not having to fork out more money. I haven't grown L. leonurus for quite a few years, so I'm not sure if reseeds enough to use that method.

My in-laws had a Lion's Tail for several years that stayed bushy with annual pruning. But it had semi-shade. In zone 22, S. Calif.

Thanks. I'm going to say ours is in part sun/part shade.

I just picked up a variegated L. leonurus yesterday. The best selling point was that it was listed as 4'h x 4'w. We'll see! Not much on the internet about them, so it is a bit of an experimental.

I'd still like to try this plant and I do not see L. menthifolia available near me. Can anyone tell if it reliably self sows? I mean L.leonurus.

Research shows that L. leonurus also reseeds, usually where they drop near the existing plant. If you have a very dry garden, there will be fewer that take hold in the surrounding area.

Thank you Gyr Falcon, I could always collect the seed.