I would not have known this species of perennial flower unless I found a few tags in the pots of plants being sold at a northern Delaware nursery in USDA Zone 7a. This species is usually noted being cold hardy to Zone 8 or 9 depending on the source, except for one that noted Zone 7. It is native to tropical and subtropical pine forests in central and eastern Mexico. This cultivar of 'Santa Barbara' was found in a garden in the Californian city and it is more compact growing than the mother species. The foliage is evergreen in warmer climates. I am not sure if it stays that way up in Zone 7. Its roots and crown probably survive in Zone 7, unless the nursery is selling it as an annual. One is supposed to cut the plant down in early spring. it is a good-looking forb.

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