SALVIA CYANESCENS

Description

This superb perennial shrub, native to Iran and Turkey, was introduced to horticulture in 1959. It is an excellent plant, both for the foliage and for the flowers, which can handle heat, drought, winds, and a fair amount of cold down to -15C. From large velvety-white leaves in loose rosettes, arise thin branched spikes, bearing celestial violet-blue flowers that seem very much too large for the plant! This is a fabulous salvia for warm and dry spots, small, slow growing, but also long-lived and tough. Whether in garden or container it will please enormously.

Sowing Advice

For best results, sow immediately onto a good soil-based compost. Cover the seeds with fine grit or compost to approximately their own depth. They can be sown at any time, and germination can sometimes be quicker if kept at 15 to 20 degrees C. We sow most seeds in an unheated greenhouse and wait for natural germination, as many seeds have built-in dormancy mechanisms, often waiting for natural spring germination, hence giving them a full season of growth.

Key Facts