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Salvia 'Carol's Delight' (Carol's Terry's Sage) - A large shrubby perennial that can grow 6 feet tall or even taller with support. It has bright green elliptical leaves with prominent veins and bright pink flowers from fall through late winter and early spring (late September through early March) here in Santa Barbara.
Plant in full sun to light shade with average garden irrigation. Reliably hardy to only about 27 F but will resprout after slightly colder temperatures from the base.
Salvia 'Carol's Delight' is a presumed hybrid between Salvia karwinskii and Salvia wagnerianum. It was a spontaneous seedling hybrid found in the early '90s in the Santa Barbara garden of Joyce Greenlund, who lived up in the hills above Santa Barbara in the area known as "The Riviera". Greenlund gave a piece to Carol Terry, then caretaker of Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden in downtown Santa Barbara and a Past President of the Santa Barbara County Horticultural Society and she propagated this plant and planted it in the park where she worked and also distributed it around, including a plant to Ernie Wasson, who planted it in the registered Salvia garden at Cabrillo College and named it 'Carol's Delight'. Carol also was our source of this beautiful sage. In Carol's garden this plant has grown to 8 to 10 ft. tall against her neighbors Podocarpus hedge and it has reached a similar size in Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden.
Like its presumed parents, this plant is a cool season bloomer with the shape of the inflorescence approximating that of Salvia karwinskii with a 6–7-inch bloom spike that develops side shoots of blooms as they elongate for several months. The bracts, calyces, and flowers are more similar to the other parent presumed parent, Salvia wagneriana in color and size. There are references that note this a hybrid of Salvia involucrata and Salvia karwinskii but Salvia involucrata was not believed to be in the Greenlund's garden when this hybrid arose.
The name Salvia comes from the Latin name used by Pliny for the plant and comes from the Latin word 'salvere' meaning "to save" in reference to the long-believed healing properties of the plant. Images of this plant on our website courtesy of Carol Terry.
The information about Salvia 'Carol's Delight' 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. |
