Salvia blancoana: is a small shrubby perennial from Morocco, growing to 20-30 cm H. with pale mauve flowers for a full sun position.
Salvia blancoana: is a tough, hardy Salvia for a sunny position with good drainage.
Flowers: are mauve, falcate shaped, the flower tube being fat and inflated. A small hood with the bottom lobe being curled back to show the attractive markings allowing bees to enter the flower.
The flowers appear in whorls on a congested flower head which is held well above the foliage to attract passing insects. Flowering in late spring, through summer and continuing well until autumn.
Calyces: have hairs with sticky glands along the ribs. Although green, they are often coloured olive green or brownish on the exposed side. Lobes are pointed and fragrant.
Leaves: are green with a grey blue tinge, lanceolate with a blunt pointed apex and rugosely textured with very fine crenations along the edges. They have a mild “sagey” fragrance, to ward off foraging animals and insects. Leaves can also be used in cooking.
S. blancoana: should be grown in full sun at the front of the bed where it can form a groundcover mound. Rockeries are ideal as they are well drained. Grow with other small perennials that have similar growing conditions. These flowers attract a lot of bees and other pollinating insects.
This is a hardy and tough Salvia, growing well during the hot summers months, cold winters and withstanding frosts and even some snow.
At the end of autumn, it is best to clean out the plant, by cutting out any dead or twiggy stems. If collecting leaves for culinary purposes, then cut back to a good green bud. Don’t allow the stems to grow too long and twiggy before cutting back. This will encourage new growth and invigorate the plant.
Propagation: is usually by tip cuttings taken from new growth in spring.
Occasionally available.