Salvia’ Bluebird ‘: is a tall upright bushy Salvia, growing 3-4m H by only 1-1.5m W. Flowering autumn to spring with brushes of sky blue flowers.
Salvia ‘Bluebird’: attracts a lot of small birds, bees and pollinating insects.
Flowers: are a sky blue brush of congested flowers at the top of the flowering stem. Both the hood and bottom lobes are equal in length, so each flower can open wide to allow small birds and bees to enter for the flower. Flowering begins in late autumn and continues through winter into early Spring.
Calyces: are small, green, lots of soft hairs and ribbed with blunt lobes. The green colour shows off the gorgeous sky blue flowers.
Leaves: are a broad cordate shape, a mid green with indented veins and pronounced crenations along the edges. The stems are ribbed and squarish.
Salvia ‘Bluebird’: is a Salvia that can be planted and squashed in between other shrubs at the back of the bed. Planted for it’s narrowness and the wonderful blue flowers in Winter, it adds a welcome splash of colour to the garden.
Grow this narrow blue Salvia with other tall, pink, crimson or even white flowering shrubs. It does prefer to be squashed between other shrubs in a semi shaded or a sunny protected position.
Although frost tender, it is winter hardy, with many of the leaves taking on a burnished colouring. Most of the other surrounding shrubs would add protection from the worst of the frost.
At the end of spring when most of the flowering has finished, cut the old canes of S. ‘Bluebird down, taking them out completely, leaving the new growth to reinvigorate the shrub. Cut out any dead or twiggy growth.
If there isn’t much new growth, then cut the top of the old canes down by half to promote new growth.
Propagation: Cuttings can be taken either in spring from the new growth or tip cuttings most times of the year.