San Marcos Growers LogoSan Marcos Growers
New User
Wholesale Login
Enter Password
Home Products Purchase Gardens About Us Resources Contact Us
Nursery Closure
Search Utilities
Plant Database
Search Plant Name
Detail Search Avanced Search Go Button
Search by size, origins,
details, cultural needs
Website Search Search Website GO button
Search for any word
Site Map
Retail Locator
Plant Listings

PLANT TYPE
PLANT GEOGRAPHY
PLANT INDEX
ALL PLANT LIST
PLANT IMAGE INDEX
PLANT INTROS
SPECIALTY CROPS
NEW  2024 PLANTS

PRIME LIST
  for JULY


Natives at San Marcos Growers
Succulents at San Marcos Growers
 Weather Station

 
Products > Salvia 'Bee's Bliss'
 
Salvia 'Bee's Bliss' - Bee's Bliss Groundcover Sage
   
Image of Salvia 'Bee's Bliss'
[2nd Image]
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Shrub
Family: Lamiaceae (Labiatae) (Mints)
Origin: California (U.S.A.)
California Native (Plant List): Yes
Evergreen: Yes
Flower Color: Lavender Blue
Bloomtime: Spring
Parentage: (Salvia leucophylla x S. clevelandii or S. sonomensis)
Height: 1-2 feet
Width: 6-8 feet
Exposure: Full Sun
Summer Dry: Yes
Deer Tolerant: Yes
Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F
Salvia 'Bee's Bliss' (Bee's Bliss Groundcover Sage) - This native California shrub grows low to the ground, never exceeding 2 feet, and can reach 6 to 8 feet wide, making a carpet on the ground and draping over rocks or walls. It has an extended bloom with whorls of lavender-blue flowers on 1 foot long spikes from mid-spring into early summer, rising above the tomentose gray-green leaves.

Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil and water sparingly. This plant is quite drought tolerant, particularly in coastal gardens and seems to dislike overhead irrigation which can promote powdery mildew along the coast. Looks its best with occasional deep watering. Considered hardy to 20-25° F but has reportedly survived to 18° F without damage. Makes a great groundcover, particularly on slopes and attracts bees, butter?ies, hummingbirds and other birds to the garden but is not particularly attractive to browsing animals.

Salvia 'Bee's Bliss' is a garden hybrid that was selected in 1989 by Roger Raiche of Planet Horticulture when he worked at the University of California Berkeley Botanic Garden and was named by garden designer and artist Marcia Donahue. It is thought to be a cross of Salvia leucophylla with either Salvia sonomensis or Salvia clevelandii though some have noted its similarity to a plant called Salvia 'Gracias', which is described as a Salvia sonomensis and Salvia clevelandii hybrid from an unknown source. The Theodore Payne foundation describes 'Bee's Bliss' as more draping than 'Gracias' and more compact than Salvia leucophylla 'Pt. Sal Spreader'. We have grown this great native California sage cultivar since receiving it from Betsy Clebsch in 1996. 

This information about Salvia 'Bee's Bliss' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate 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 that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.

 
  [MORE INFO]