I would not have known this species of perennial flower unless I found a few tags in the pots of plants being sold at a northern Delaware nursery in USDA Zone 7a. This species is usually noted being cold hardy to Zone 8 or 9 depending on the source, except for one that noted Zone 7. It is native to tropical and subtropical pine forests in central and eastern Mexico. This cultivar of 'Santa Barbara' was found in a garden in the Californian city and it is more compact growing than the mother species. The foliage is evergreen in warmer climates. I am not sure if it stays that way up in Zone 7. Its roots and crown probably survive in Zone 7, unless the nursery is selling it as an annual. One is supposed to cut the plant down in early spring. it is a good-looking forb.
Yes, this mother species is native to Texas and Mexico where it is a short-lived perennial living about 5 years long. It grows about 1.5 to 3 feet high. It bears mint-like two-lipped violet-blue flowers. Its grayish-green leaves are to 3 inches long. It gets its scientific species name of "farinacea" from the Latin word for flour or meal because it has white powdery felting on its upper stems and calyx. It is pollinated by bees, bumblebees, and some butterflies. A good number of more compact cultivars have been developed with a range of hues of purple-blue flowers and some white blooming cultivars also.
'Rhea' has been a common cultivar of Mealycup Sage for a long time in the Midwest and Eastern US. It is shorter than the similar cultivar of 'Victoria Blue' and a little darker in flower color. It usually grows about 12 to 18 inches high. It is more resistant to storm damage by strong winds and rain than the similar cultivar mentioned.
I discovered the White Victoria a few years after the Blue Victoria came out. It has been the most commonly sold white blooming cultivar in the Midwest and Eastern US since the 1990's. She usually gets about 18 to 20 inches high like her blue sister. Also an easy and reliable annual for sunny dryish to mesic soils. This cultivar and other Mealycup Sages are commonly sold at conventional garden centers and nurseries, but I can't think of seeing it sold at Home Depot or other big box stores. Big Box stores do not have the amount of variety of plants as sold at conventional garden centers, greenhouses, and nurseries.
Victoria Blue is a common cultivar and used to be the most common cultivar that I found being sold in the 1990's and up to around 2015 in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Some newer cultivars have come forward recently to compete with it. This blue-purple blooming cultivar is more compact than the mother species, native to Mexico and Texas, and is usually about 18 to 20 inches high. It usually holds up well but I have seen it suffer some damage from strong wind & rain so that there is some breakage. It can grow back. Some milder winters in southeast Pennsylvania it survives the winter to re-sprout being a short-lived perennial in warmer zones starting with Zone 8, and this is especially true if the plants are close to a building to receive some warmth. It also re-seeds itself and the seedlings seem to basically come true to form, possibly a little taller. Overall, it is a great annual that is very reliable and easy to grow in sunny sites in dryish or mesic soils.
Salvia darcyi Vermilion Bluffs Pscarl is not a flashy plant, but has a deep, monochromatic intensity that deserves a second look. The leaves have just a hint of lemon under the "salvia" scent.
I am amazed at how the annual flower industry keeps creating more and more cultivars. The first Mealycup Sage cultivars that I had seen were the 'Blue Victoria' and the 'White Victoria' that are still good and still sold at many garden centers, though I don't think I have ever seen any kind of Mealycup Sage sold by Home Depot and some other big box stores, which do not offer as big a selection of plants as older, conventional, regular nurseries. This 'Deep Ocean' is one of about 10 new cultivars that have come out recently. This Sallyfun series has plants of a good compact habit that bear a good amount of flowers. They range from dark purple to dark blue-purple to light purplish-blue to white to bicolor purple-blue & white. The plants usually grow 24 to 30 inches high and have bigger leaves. Deep Ocean is dark purple-blue, though my plants don't look as dark as the pictures. I bought mine at an old conventional nursery.
I found this older cultivar listed in my old 1976 Ball Seed catalog in the 'Medium Height section, as it gets about 14 inches high. It is noted as having attractive green foliage and spikes of deep fiery red. I remember buying it in the past, probably the 1980's and 90's, and maybe later.
I found this cultivar listed in my old Ball Seed catalog of 1976 as being a popular selection in the 1970's that grew about 24 inches high and had a good even, bushy habit. I know that I've seen it sold in decades after that.
I found this older cultivar listed in my old Ball Seed Catalog of 1976 listed in the "Tall section" as it was expected to get about 26 inches high. The taller Scarlet Sages take longer to come into bloom than the shorter cultivars, but it is worth the wait of about 2 or 3 weeks.
I found this cultivar listed in my old Ball Seed 1976 Catalog, listed as a dwarf that gets about 12 inches high, and it is still sold in this early 21st century. The new Vista Series is so similar of being the same kind of dwarf selection. Neither seem to attract hummingbirds.
I already made comments about this cultivar's sister of the Vista Red Scarlet Sage. I really like the cultivars of the Scarlet or Showy Sage (Salvia splendens) to be larger than this very dwarf selection of the Vista Series. I think the best size is about 18 to 24 inches high as being so much better for this species. I even like the old 3 feet high selections that there used to be in the 1950's into the 70's. The older, larger selections were definitely good for Hummingbirds. I've seen the female Ruby-throated Hummingbird back away from the Vista Red Sages I had on the back deck in 2018 and not feed from them.
This is a very dwarf cultivar that only gets about 10 to 12 inches high. I bought a few plants in 2018 and put them out in big pots on the deck to help attract hummingbirds that normally love the Scarlet or Showy Sage (Salvia splendens). However, I only saw the female Ruby-throated Hummingbird back off from this cultivar and immediately go instead to the Anise-scented Sages and Cigar-Flowers that I had on the deck also. I think the flower structure may differ from the mother species so that the hummingbirds don't really like it. I really favour having any Scarlet Sages growing about 18 to 24 inches as my favourite size to work with, even without hummingbirds. I even like the old 3 feet high plants that I remember back in the 1960's & 70's that the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds did really love a lot. Therefore, I don't recommend this newer series of Vista cultivars.
We planted the Windwalker red two years ago and added two last year. They were beautiful. This year they are dead, absolutely no green showing by the dirt, nothing.
Can we bring them back or is this how they are supposed to be? We did fertilize as we have read, then planned on cutting back in June but Bob insists they are gone.
Introduced by Los Gatos, California nurseryman, Ed Carmen. His nursery was a mecca for rare and unusual plants, and he was responsible for introducing many new plants into the trade. The nursery was located on Mozart Lane; hence, the name.
This beautiful flowering salvia is a new introduction from Flowers By The Sea. FBTS grows, sells and specializes in salvias. They are located in Elk, CA.
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