Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants

Herbaceous Perennial

Salvia atrocyanea

dark-flowered Bolivian sage

A tuberous perennial, up to around 2.5m tall, with heart-shaped leaves, hairy beneath, up to 15cm or more long. Flower spikes, often drooping and horizontal to the main stem, comprise deep blue flowers, up to 2cm long, with green calyces and blue-tinged bracts and are borne from late summer into autumn

Synonyms

Salvia guarantica 'Meyeri'
Salvia meyeri

Save to My plants

Buy this plant

Plant nurseries
8 suppliers

Ultimate height

1.5–2.5 metres

Time to ultimate height

2–5 years

Ultimate spread

1–1.5 metres

Chalk

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Well–drained

pH

Acid, Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun

Aspect

West–facing or South–facing

Exposure

Sheltered

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

Botanical details

Family: Lamiaceae
Native to GB / Ireland: No
Foliage: Deciduous
Habit: Bushy
Genus: Salvia can be annuals, biennials, herbaceous or evergreen perennials, or shrubs. They have paired, simple or pinnately lobed, often aromatic leaves and 2-lipped flowers in whorls, forming simple or branched spikes or racemes
Name status: Correct
Plant range: Argentina

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in well-drained soil and full sun with shelter from cold, drying winds

Propagation

Propagate by seed, by division or from cuttings

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Cottage and informal garden
Mediterranean climate plants
Cut flowers
Flower borders and beds
Wall side borders

Pruning

Cut back spent flower spikes to prolong flowering

Pests

May be susceptible to slugs, snails, aphids, capsid bug and leafhoppers

Diseases

May be susceptible to honey fungus (rarely), powdery mildews, verticillium wilt and foot and root rots

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.