Spotlight on: Salvia guaranitica
You will know from other parts of this blog that I am a big fan of salvias.
Salvia guaranitica (above) is the anise-scented sage or hummingbird sage. Of the four loose salvia groupings it belongs to the South American group. These come from subtropical regions like Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina and high-altitude parts of Peru. They tend to have that subtropical look too – large, lush-looking leaves & gaudy, electric flowers. This is not to everyone's taste. If you don’t like Bougainvillea you won’t like S. Guaranitica.
South American salvias are also the least suited to southern, inland and western gardens because of their tendency to demand summer water and hate frost. But I want to give S. guaranitica a plug and thumbs-up for many reasons.
Firstly I just can’t go past the striking cobalt-blue flowers, springing up for months on masses of tall, upright stems. From a distance, if planted in clumps, they convey a sense of cool in the midst of warmth. Being so tall (~1m) they can catch the eye from both inside and roadside yet offer privacy to the house when in their prime.
If plants could be matched to music, those huge, decadent clumps of S. guaranitica are perfect to be enjoyed with Spanish or Brazilian orchestral music from the turn of the century – eg Villa Lobos.
S. guaranitica is also robust and hard to kill. On the East Coast it is probably invasive, so be warned. In other areas dry & cold naturally limits its spread.
What I especially love is that it colonises sites with heavy soil and poor drainage where not much else will thrive. Occasional bogginess after rain won’t bother it.
While few of us in Mediterranean or inland Australia have the luxury of a moist spot some may have an odd tricky bit – an easement or open drain, a natural depression, a place of deliberate or accidental stormwater runoff, a grey water channel. S. guaranitica will thrive here. It does not need rich soil or much fertiliser.
The plant has weaknesses – it hates dry & cold – but neither is likely to kill it in Zone 9a and above. When things get really dry in January it will let you know by wilting. But with a decent drink it will bounce back within a couple of hours, with minimal damage. Frost will singe it too, but this doesn’t matter as the plant is herbaceous and any winter growth is long past its best and due for cutting to the ground.
S. guaranitica’s strengths mean it is the basis for several popular cultivars & hybrids. In fact these are far more common than the original – which is no problem since they tend to be better plants, drawing on the strengths rather than weaknesses of their parents.
The one in my garden photographed above is likely ‘Costa Rica Blue’, a variant with lighter green leaves. Other variants include ‘Sapphire Blue’, ‘Blue Enigma’, ‘Black and Blue’, ‘Argentine Skies’ and ‘Omaha Gold’. Cultivars include ‘Amistad’ and ‘Purple Majesty’.
If your garden is looking drab, tired or nondescript and needs a bold statement without having to resort to idiot pots of ‘potted colour’, S. Guaranitica could be the go for you.
