It took till November to see this unbelievably cool South African native perennial bloom. And when it did, I couldn’t resist bringing everyone to see it- look-look! –like a new baby!
Its called Pycnostachys urticifolia and is a member of the Mint family. We shall call it “Blue Witch’s Hat” since it doesn’t seem to have a common name. It grows to a nice and bushy 3 ½ feet tall ,and about 3’ spread with multi-branching stems ,arrayed with attractive wavy leaves . In Winter and Spring it bears many 5” tall upright, densely clustered ,intense cobalt blue, flower spikes that look like pointy “witch’s hat’s”. The form and color are astounding. It seems to be long blooming too , as the first “hats” begin to fade, new buds are forming aplenty. We are not positive yet of its minimum temperature , though its described by the seed source as hardy to USDA Zone 9 which is our own coastal zone.