Description

One of the enjoyable aspects of cultivating a garden of native plants is that chance hybrids may appear. With luck, these hybrids combine the qualities of the parent plants. These star performers may be cloned and named, enriching native gardens for years to come. Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’ and Arctostaphylos ‘Dr. Hurd’ both come to mind, but there are many others. ‘Vicki Romo’ is one such hybrid, discovered at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (now California Botanic Garden) and introduced in 1993. Like most hybrids, the parentage is not precisely known, but it is thought to include Salvia apiana and Salvia clevelandii. The form is rounded and open with silver/white lance-shaped leaves much like Salvia apiana. The flowers are large and light violet. It has thrived here in San Jose for several years with no supplemental irrigation. It does not appear to go dormant in the summer as Salvia clevelandii may do if naturalized. An ideal planting site would include soil of at least medium drainage and plenty of sun.