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Salvia semiatrata - This small evergreen shrub can grow upright to 6 feet tall by 3 feet wide, but it is usually seen at about half this size. It has neat triangular shaped rough-textured olive-green leaves and attractive bi-colored flowers that bloom mostly summer and fall with a lingering bloom to nearly year-round. The flowers, in few-flowered whorls along a 6-inch-long inflorescence, are a dark violet on the upper lip and dusky lavender with a darker violet-blue blotch on the lower and are held by a magenta-colored calyx.
Give this plant full sun along the coast but provide some protection from heat in hotter inland locations and place in a soil that drains well. Water regularly. Hardy to 15-20°F (some say 10°F) .
This plant is native to Oaxaca where it grows in the Sierra Madre del Sur at 6,500 feet or higher where it experiences cool winter temperatures and regular summer rainfall. The name Salvia comes from the name used by Pliny for a plant in the genus and comes from the Latin word 'salvere' meaning "to save" in reference to the long-believed healing properties of several Sage species. The specific epithet comes from the Latin words 'semi' meaning half and 'atrata' meaning "darkened" or "dressed in black" in reference to the corolla tube having two colors with park quite dark.
The information about Salvia semiatrata 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. |
