Salvia farinacea
Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Salvia amabilis
- Salvia virgata
- Phonetic Spelling
- SAL-vee-ah fair-in-ah-SAY-ah
- Description
-
Mealy-cup sage perennializes reliably only in the outer Coastal Plain but grows beautifully during the spring, summer and fall and functions as an annual in the Mountains and Piedmont. It is an excellent bedding plant that looks neat and attractive all summer. The leaves are softly hairy and small, and the flower spikes strong and upright. It makes a good cut flower. It prefers well-drained, moist soil but tolerates dry clay soil. Plant in annual beds, along borders, in meadows, cottage gardens, or cutting gardens. This plant is seldom damaged by deer.
Quick ID
- Erect herbs with square stems
- Opposite ovate-lanceolate leaves
- Chalices short, cup-like, inconspicuous teeth
- Corollas zygomorphic, large lower lip, blue-purple
It will perennialize in southern beds, dying to the ground during winter, but is commonly treated as an annual; summer bloomer until frost; white cultivars exist. It is susceptible to downy and powdery mildew.
VIDEO Created by Elisabeth Meyer for "Annuals, Perennials, Vines, and Groundcovers" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscapes:
- Courtyard Garden
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Blue Bedder'
- 'Celebration Blue'
- 'Rhea Dwarf Blue'
compact (12-16 inches) with purple-blue flowers on dark purplish stems. - 'Sallyfun Blue Emotion'
- 'Victoria'
large, intense violet-blue flowers and dark stems
- 'Blue Bedder'
- 'Blue Bedder', 'Celebration Blue', 'Rhea Dwarf Blue', 'Sallyfun Blue Emotion', 'Victoria'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Blue Bedder'
- 'Celebration Blue'
- 'Rhea Dwarf Blue'
compact (12-16 inches) with purple-blue flowers on dark purplish stems. - 'Sallyfun Blue Emotion'
- 'Victoria'
large, intense violet-blue flowers and dark stems
- 'Blue Bedder'
- 'Blue Bedder', 'Celebration Blue', 'Rhea Dwarf Blue', 'Sallyfun Blue Emotion', 'Victoria'
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Salvia
- Species:
- farinacea
- Family:
- Lamiaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Annual
- Perennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- S. Central U.S.A. to NE. Mexico
- Wildlife Value:
- Flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 1 ft. 6 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
-
-
Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Annual
- Native Plant
- Perennial
- Habit/Form:
- Clumping
- Erect
- Multi-stemmed
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Maintenance:
- Low
-
-
Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a, 10b, 10a
-
-
Fruit:
- Fruit Type:
- Capsule
-
-
Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Blue
- Purple/Lavender
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Raceme
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Good Cut
- Long Bloom Season
- Flower Shape:
- Lipped
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Flowers are blue to purple; calyx minute, short-cylindric, teeth obscure, blue beneath mealy-white pubescence; corolla zygomorphic, blue to purple, short, tube to .3 inches long, lower lip enlarged, upper lobes short. Inflorescence is a terminal. interrupted, verticillate raceme; verticillasters 10-16 flowered.
-
-
Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Opposite
- Leaf Shape:
- Lanceolate
- Oblong
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Description:
- Leaves are opposite, short-petiolate, ovate-lanceolate to narrowly oblong, irregularly serrate, minutely pubescent, acute, rotund to attenuate, minutely pubescent.
-
-
Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Cross Section:
- Square
- Stem Description:
- square
-
-
Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Coastal
- Meadow
- Naturalized Area
- Landscape Theme:
- Butterfly Garden
- Cottage Garden
- Drought Tolerant Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Design Feature:
- Border
- Mass Planting
- Small groups
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Hummingbirds
- Pollinators
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Drought
- Dry Soil
