There's lots of it at White Sands. Kind of scraggly but smells excellent. That's about as much as I know, though...

Patrick Alexander

Poliomintha incana is a small "evergray" plant, and it has tiny white flowers with a minty fragrance. Seems best for full sun, on well-draining soils. It looks nice trailing over a low wall, such as at the UTEP Chihuahuan Desert Garden / El Paso.

I think it is found natively NW of Bernalillo and in the Four Corners, too.

Another good Poliomintha is P. maderensis: a leafier plant from the Sierra Madre w/ small green foliage and stunning pink flowers (trumpet-shaped)---June to November. (hummingbirds and sphinx moths love it) It seems to be a slightly more heat and drought tolerant version of Salvia greggii, and I have used many specimens of it on a couple sites in Abq, as it performs well. Like S. greggii, its stems are brittle.

quercus_abq:

What sites in abq have this p. maderensis? Looks good.

TVI Westside (north of Ventana Ranch) has some P. madrensis doing well in a couple less rabbit-prone places, plus I have a small mass of it thriving up at my home.

Like Salvia greggii this time of year, it fades a bit, so it looks best during the March-November timeframe.

I can e-mail you a photo from here, if interested.

Sure. Post it to the forum here via web link. I usually use www.imageshack.us to upload.

I might get one in the spring. I like to have the more uncommon of the (regional ?) natives if possible.

Here are some photos of the plants in question (paste these links into your browser's address window):
"Lavender Spice" / Poliomintha maderensis (my Albq home)
http://www.thequercusgroup.com/Images-Photos_Port_E_P_Sh/Poliomintha_madrensisSml.jpg

"Lavender Spice" / Poliomintha maderensis (close-up)
http://www.thequercusgroup.com/Images-Photos_Port_E_P_Sh/Poliomintha_madrensisSmlClose.jpg

Mexican Oregano / Poliomintha incana (UTEP Chihuahuan Desert Garden)
http://www.thequercusgroup.com/Images-Photos_Port_E_P_Sh/Poliomintha_incana-EP.jpg

I recommend you try P. longiflora. Excellent foliage, scent, and very nice hummingbird/butterfly pink flowers in abundance.