Salvia 'Amante' PP31,104 - A woody based herbaceous perennial that grows 3 to 4 feet tall by as wide with upright stems bearing quilted patterned slightly hairy 3- to 4-inch-long ovate leaves with serrated margins that emerge bright green and deepen to dull dark green as they mature. In late spring throughout the summer well into fall are produced the flower inflorescences that rise well above the foliage with bicolored flowers of red-orange buds opening to show pink flared petal lips on magenta pink tubular bases and held in dark burgundy-black calyces - quite a showy combination!
Plant in full sun to partial shade in a decently well-draining soil with regular to occasional irrigation. While useful as an annual in colder locations, it is hardy as a perennial in USDA Zone 9 and above with some listing it hardy for use in USDA Zone 8. Cut back and tidy up in early spring as new growth commences. This very attractive sage is a nice plant for the garden or in a large container and it has proven to be very attractive to hummingbirds.
Salvia 'Amante' is a hybrid salvia that comes from the breeding program conducted by Rolando Aniba Uria at his nursery in Mar del Plata, Argentina. It was selected in 2017 from seedlings resulting from a cross made two years prior between Salvia x westerae 'Petra' (a hybrid between Salvia orbignaei and Salvia haenkei named for the German botanist Dr. Petra Wester) and Salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue'. Uria, an agronomy professor at the University of Buenos Aires, was the person who first discovered and introduced the popular Salvia 'Amistad' in 2005. He has continually worked on the sages and sells his hybrid plants and Salvia seed through his website Salvias.com.ar.
Salvia guaranitica 'Amante' received US Plant Patent PP31,104 on November 19, 2019 and the name in Italian, Spanish or Portuguese translates to English as "lover". We purchased liners of this protected plants through Star Roses and Plants, a division of Ball Horticulture. The picture on this page courtesy of Salvias.com.ar.
The information about Salvia 'Amante' PP31,104 displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant. |