Many of the California native Salvias are Winter blooming,
as befits plants from a Mediterranean climate.
When the rains soak the ground, new growth starts and blooming soon
follows. Most of these are from the
mountain ranges of the Pacific Coast.
Our very favorite species in this group is Salvia clevlandii
or Clevland Sage, found over a large range in the mountains of Southern California. It is a tough shrub, four to six feet tall
and six feet across. The large airy
clusters of blue to lavender-blue flowers are important nectar sources for both
honeybees and hummingbirds. The foliage is
silvery and highly aromatic.
Surprisingly hardy and adaptable to a garden setting, there
are a host of varieties available in the nursery trade. Confusion over the names, origins and
parentage of these clones is rampant. Many
of them are identical, and improper labeling is common. We have worked hard to identify a couple of
properly-named, garden-worthy cultivars that are different and worthwhile: 'Winnifred Gilman', ‘Pozo Blue’ and ‘Deer
Springs Silver’.
Clevland Sage shares its range with a number of other
Salvias, notably Salvia melifera (Black or Bee Sage), Salvia apiana (Sacred
White Sage) and Salvia leucophylla (Purple Sage). Hybrids between these species abound, further
complicating the nomenclature of this group.
Others of merit are Salvia ‘Vicki Romo’ , Salvia ‘Dara’s
Choice’, Salvia leucophylla ‘Point Sal’, Salvia sonomensis ‘Mrs. Beard’ and Salvia
sonomensis ‘Farmar-Bower’. We’ll discuss
these in Part 5 of this series.
No matter what they are botanically, these Salvias are
uniformly drought and heat resistant, needing only well drained soil and full
sun to grow. Some of the hybrids are
Zone 8 hardy, but most are best in Zone 9.
Now to Mexico, where many of the blue & purple Winter
blooming Salvias grow at relatively high elevations in the Coastal ( Sierra Madre Oriental) or Central (Sierra Madre Occidental) mountain
ranges. There are a goodly number of
these – let’s discuss four.
Salvia falax is also known as S. roscida features
uncountable numbers of small, light blue flowers. It is a tidy shrub to five feet tall,
somewhat smaller in spread. A nice
middle-of-the-border plant.
Salvia myrantha has deep violet purple blooms with prominent
bee lines that start white and age to blue.
The foliage of this shrub is sticky and fragrant. Some people like the smell, some don’t. Everyone loves the flowers.
Salvia concolor from Michoacán is my favorite of this
group. The petioles are iridescent
purple, as are the young stems. The
general habit of this open shrub – which can grow to 10 by 10 feet – is graceful
and inviting. Foot long flower stems of
dark blue cover the plant, accented by calyx that start blue but age to almost black. Spectacular in a sunny Coastal spot or in
partial shade in warmer areas, we just dote on this one – as do the hummers.
Lastly, we have Salvia caudata 'El Cielo Blue', a very fine
variety of this species from Neuevo Leon & Tamaulipas, Mexico. Flowers to die for, great foliage – this is
one destined to become more popular in warm Zone gardens. Another mid-size shrub that does well in
partial shade.
More to come in the Winter Blooming Salvia series – Pink varieties,
red & orange varieties and the rest of the Californians.
Happy Winter Gardening!
