Common Name: sage
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Lamiaceae
Zone: 4 to 7
Height: 2.00 to 3.00 feet
Spread: 1.50 to 2.50 feet
Bloom Time: June to September
Bloom Description: Blue
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Dry Soil
Culture
Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Tolerates drought. Prefers moist, gravelly or sandy soils with good drainage. Best performance usually occurs in climates with cool night temperatures. Plants will often repeat bloom throughout the summer, but need regular moisture to encourage this. Remove spent flower spikes to help extend the bloom period. Plants may become somewhat floppy and open up as the summer progresses, particularly in humid climates. If plants flop or otherwise depreciate in summer to the point where they look unsightly, consider cutting them back to the basal foliage. In any event, cut plants back after flowering has concluded. Species is easily grown from seed.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Salvia transsylvanica is a compact, clump-forming perennial. Tiny, two-lipped, lavender-blue flowers appear in early summer in densely-flowered, spike-like racemes (4-8" long) atop large leaved stems typically growing 2-3' tall. Flowers are attractive to bees and butterflies.
The genus name Salvia comes from the Latin word salveo meaning "to save or heal", in reference to the purported medically curative properties attributed to some plants in the genus.
Specific epithet means from Transylvania, Romania.
‘Blue Cloud’ features blue flowers.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Some susceptibility to powdery mildew, leaf spot and rust. White fly and scale are occasional insect pests.
Uses
Perennial borders, cottage gardens, wild gardens, or naturalized plantings. Effective when planted with pink flowering perennials such as roses and silver-leaved foliage plants such as artemisias.