Common Name: sage
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Lamiaceae
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 1.25 to 1.75 feet
Spread: 1.25 to 1.75 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Description: Cotton candy pink
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Flower: Showy, Good Cut, Good Dried
Leaf: Fragrant
Attracts: Hummingbirds, Butterflies
Tolerate: Rabbit, Deer
Culture
Easily grown in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates drought although plants will flower better with average moisture. Prefers gravelly or sandy soils with good drainage. Plants appreciate good air circulation. Remove spent flower spikes to help extend the bloom period. Plants may rebloom in late summer. 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.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Salvia is a genus of over 900 species of annuals, biennials, herbaceous and evergreen perennials and shrubs. They are found worldwide except for hot, tropical areas.
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.
'Pink Dawn' was discovered as a random seedling by Hans A. Hansen of Walters Gardens in 2011 in a residential garden planting in Zeeland, Michigan. A member of the Color Spires® series from Proven Winners, its parentage is unknown although Salvia 'May Night' was the closest salvia growing nearby. 'Pink Dawn' grows into a compact mound with stiff, upright, heavily-branched stems with wrinkled, lanceolate, medium green to gray-green leaves (to 4” long) that are aromatic when bruised. It has fuchsia buds held on purplish stems that open into large cotton candy-colored flowers with persistent, greyed-purple calyxes. The flowers are densely arranged in whorls around the stems and bloom from late spring into early summer. It is reputed to be longer blooming due to its well-branched flower stems. 'Pink Dawn' grows 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 ft. tall and wide. United States Plant Patent PP#26,343 issued January 19, 2016.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses
Borders, foundations, mass planting.