By Bobbie Stephenson, Newsletter Editor
Woolly Bluecurls naturally occurs in the coastal chaparral on the dry slopes of the Coast Ranges from Monterey and San Benito Counties of California, south to Northern Baja California. Woolly Bluecurls gets its common name from the colorful (white to purple) woolly hairs that cover the stems and calyces. It also has woolly white hairs on the undersides of the narrow aromatic leaves, which are shiny green above.
This highly fragrant, small evergreen shrub or sub-shrub in the Lamiaceae (Mint family) likes full sun and blooms from spring to summer.
The bloom period can extend into fall with a little supplemental summer watering, but only give it summer water if the soil drains well. Woolly Bluecurls makes a great cut flower; note the long silky recurved stamens on the flowers in the photo to the left.
Do not amend the soil or fertilize heavily.
The petals are fused to form a slender tube. Nectar at the bottom of the tube is accessible only to long-tongued pollinators like hummingbirds, large bees and the long-tongued larger butterflies.