Garden and Flowers

In areas with a mild climate like south-west England, Salvia patens is cultivated as a perennial (if protected in winter). In The Netherlands, however, we are obliged to treat this Mexican species differently. Its radical tubers may be dug up in the autumn and stored frost-free in peat dust in the same way as dahlia tubers. We may take cuttings in late summer and keep them in frost-free conditions, but it is also possible to cultivate the plants as annuals. In that case, they should be sown very early in spring. For most plant lovers, a third method is the most convenient one – buying new plants every spring. They are cultivated by professional nurserymen and sold mainly by patio plant specialists.

Salvia patens is often used in large groups in flower-beds and borders. It serves as a focal point in a border and does spectacularly well in a pot. In Mexico, the plant grows as a shrub. Cultivated as an annual, it grows to a height of 16-32 in, depending on growing conditions. Provide nutritive soil and, preferably, a place in partial shade.

There are some magnificent cultivars with flowers in various shades.

Salvia patens ‘Cambridge Blue’ has sky-blue flowers. The flowers of Salvia patens, 2V2 in long, are pollinated by hummingbirds. Salvia patens ‘Chilcombe’ bears lilac-blue flowers. Those of Salvia patens ‘Oxford Blue’ are an intense shade of deep blue, and those of Salvia patens ‘White Perfection’ are pure white.