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Blue Flame Giant Purple Salvia

Salvia pachyphylla Blue Flame

$9.99
$9.99 $0.00
per Plant - 5" Deep Pot
Sale |
ZONES  5-9 | Good to grow! Zone

Exclusive. Salvia pachyphylla 'Blue Flame' (Giant Purple Sage) is a selection of a little known native Sage species from the mountains of Southern CA. It has huge 10" tall flower spikes with gas flame blue flowers and glowing rose-pink bracts. Drought resistant/drought tolerant plant (xeric). A High Country Gardens introduction. 2008 Plant of the Year.

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Description

Salvia pachyphylla 'Blue Flame' is a selection of the xeric sub-shrub Giant Purple Sage, chosen for its huge, brightly colored 10"+ long flowering spikes. Like a gas flame, the long tubular blue flowers poke through the rose-pink bracts attracting hummingbirds from the entire neighborhood. To help support the huge flower spikes, it's helpful to pinch back the tips of the new shoots in mid-spring to thicken up the plant. This beauty likes full sun, good air circulation, and fast draining soil conditions. Turn up the heat in your xeriscape with this exclusive High Country Gardens introduction. (cutting propagated) 24" tall x 24-30" wide.

Planting & Care

Tips For Growing Salvia

Salvia (commonly referred to as ‘Sage’) represent a huge family of ornamental plants that attract a variety of pollinators to their nectar rich flowers. They are resistant to deer and rabbits.

  1. Plant in full sun.
  2. Plant native Western Salvia varieties in soil that is low fertility and well-drained.
  3. Plant Old World Salvia in a wide range of soils (loams, sand) including clay.
  4. Many spring-flowering varieties of sage will re-bloom in fall if deadheaded after the first bloom.
  5. New transplants need regular irrigation their first growing season to establish themselves. Once established they will need regular, deep irrigation during hot, dry weather.
  6. During fall garden clean-up, wait to cut back the plants until spring for improved cold hardiness.
  7. In colder USDA zones (zone 6 and below) it is essential to give Native Southwestern and Southwestern hybrids protection from the extreme cold their first couple winters in the garden. Mound up pine needles or fallen autumn leaves over and around the base of the plant.

Western Native Salvia: : It is from the Western US that we find our most beautiful native salvia species. For attracting hummingbirds, there are no finer flowers than the Western native sages. Typically, this group of Salvia prefer ‘lean’ (not very fertile), well drained soils. They will grow in dry clay conditions in arid climates but will rot out in clay soils where there is more than about 15 to 18” of precipitation annually.

Western Salvia include:

  • Salvia greggii - ‘Furman’s Red’, ‘Cold Hardy Pink’
  • Salvia hybrids - ‘Maraschino’, ‘Raspberry Delight’, ‘Ultra Violet’ and ‘Burgundy Seduction’.
  • Salvia pachyphylla and Salvia dorrii is recommended for arid western gardens.
  • Salvia azurea and Salvia reptans - Early fall bloomers with excellent cold hardiness.

To get established in USDA zones 5 & 6, Western Salvia (noted above) must be planted in spring or early summer, not in the fall. Protect your new plants over their first winter or two in your garden. Cover each plant with a generous pile of clean straw or pine needles. This allows the plant's crown (junction of root and branches) to mature and obtain maximum cold hardiness.

Old Wolrd Salvia: The Old World Salvia include some of the very best, most durable, longest-lived perennials. These salvia are an excellent choice for gardeners across most of the United States. ‘Old World’ Sages bloom primarily in shades of blue, pink and white. They are well adapted to cold climates and a wide range of soils including clay. The European Salvia are incredibly attractive to honey bees, many of our native bees and bumble bees as well as butterflies.

Old World varieties include:

  • Salvia syslvestris'Lyrical Rose', 'May Night', 'Little Night', 'Caradonna' and 'Marcus'.
  • Salvia daghestanica
  • Salvia verticiliata

More in-depth guidance for growing Salvia:Planting Nectar Rich Salvia to Attract Pollinators to the Garden

Shipping

As soon as your order is placed you will receive a confirmation email. You will receive a second email the day your order ships telling you how it has been sent. Some perennials are shipped as potted plants, some as perennial roots packed in peat.  The ‘Plant Information’ section describes how that item will ship. All perennials and fall-planted bulbs are packaged to withstand shipping and are fully-guaranteed. Please open upon receipt and follow the instructions included.

Perennials and fall-planted bulbs are shipped at the proper planting time for your Growing Zone. Perennial and fall-planted bulb orders will arrive separately from seeds. If your order requires more than one shipment and all items are shipping to the same address, there is no additional shipping charge. See our shipping information page for approximate ship dates and more detailed information. If you have any questions, please call Customer Service at (801) 769-0300 or contact us by email or chat.

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Key Features

Light Requirements

  • Full Sun

Water Tolerance

Low-Water

Bloom Time

Summer

Advantages

  • Bee Friendly
  • Attracts Butterflies
  • Attracts Hummingbirds
  • Native
  • Winter Interest
  • Evergreen
  • Easy To Grow
  • Low Maintenance
  • Fragrant
  • Deer Resistant
  • Rabbit Resistant

Additional information

Mature Height

24" tall

Mature Spread

24-30" wide

Soil Type

  • Average Soil
  • Sandy Soil

Soil Moisture

  • Waterwise

Planting Time

  • Spring / Summer

Special Groups

  • High Country Gardens Exclusive
  • High Country Gardens Introduction

Native To

North America

Growing Zones

  • Zone 5
  • Zone 6
  • Zone 7
  • Zone 8
  • Zone 9

Neonicotinoid Free

Yes

Ships As

Potted Plant
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Overall rating: 5.0 / 5 from 10 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Summary topics

Review topics: ["color","summer","plant","leaves","salvia"].

Review highlights

Reviews

I love this plant and it is stunning

"This plant did so west in my backyard facing west, it grew to a very large size and the flowers were stunning But, it couldn't get my new puppies mowing it down, so I have been waiting and waiting for more to arrive to buy. How do I get on email to be notified when back in stock. You cannot buy this plant in Utah All my gardens are now perrenials and as much native as I can get. I have been working on this for 25 years and every year I can't wait to see everything bloom."

— Cathy (5/5)

Very impressed

"Bought one and then another the next year. Both have done very well, even reblooming later in the season. The silvery leaf color is nice and the flowers are pleasantly different, and the leaves stayed on all season long. Only gets watered once a week and has stood up to our very hot and dry summers and even a little snow in winter. I certainly wouldn't mind if this one reseeded."

— Jvelo (5/5)

Give it a few years and then stand back

"I have a garden on the south side of my Denver brick home. It is an oven in the summer. I have slowly been finding plants that can stand the heat and also low water since my husband tells me not to water close to the house. I planted this salvia a few years ago and got a blossom or two in prior years, but this year it took off. Early this spring I cut it way back, then we got lots of spring rain. The salvia more than doubled in size since last year and has lots of gorgeous blue/purple flowers. The leaves are a nice shade of light green. Leave enough room for it to grow. Also, mine is more floppy than the plant shown on the web site."

— Fellow G. (5/5)

Perfection!

"Placed in my xeric hummingbird garden. Absolutely stunning; endures full Arizona sun, West exposure, reflected heat; bursting with blooms, vigorous, eye-catching and very showy."

— Ulli (5/5)

Great plant for super hot areas!

"I've had this plant two years now. I live at an elevation of 5,850 feet. I planted it an area with full sun that gets very hot in late afternoons that has exposure from both the south and the west. Though the soil is mostly clay, it has thrived nonetheless. The large flowered bracts make the plant very attractive. It's much more bushy this year since I pinched back the tips of the shoots the end of April. It's my favorite plant in our xeriscaped front yard!"

— Robert (5/5)

Love the color

"Had a little problem with this part of the order. Only one of the plants survived. These are tough plants. . . require little water and the flowers are spectacular. The survivor had a good root system in place when it went into the ground. The others did not. They weren't around long. HCG took care of me on this. They're great that way."

— Doberdaughter (5/5)

Stunner

"We bought a handful of purple sage with hopes that they would flourish in our high elevation growing area in CA. Not only did they flourish and take off but they bloomed the first year and volunteer seedlings popped up on our property. Super happy with the this native and the bloom last most of the summer. It's a stunning bloomer that will not disappoint. The only plants that did not survive were the ones that we put in containers."

— Luigi (5/5)

Really neat sage plant

"This has to be my favorite sage plant. Very colorful and noticeable. Starts blooming late spring/early summer and keeps going. Really thriving in the high desert region in California at 3200 ft elevation. Water twice a week"

— Chris (5/5)

I will buy more of these.

"I love this little plant. They had only been in the ground a few months when Pasadena was hit by a triple digit heat wave in early July. They survived, and the little plants are now brightening up a previously bare spot in my front yard. I have sandy soil and I've been watering it once a week. The flowers are very pretty."

— Water S. (5/5)

flourishing in Southern Colorado summer

"I planted these in spring in southern Colorado - a few didn't make it - but the ones that did - WOW. They are flourishing. They love a lot of heat and direct sunlight. I water them maybe every other day. Don't water them too much or drown them. My soil was rocky with clay - I amended with Yum Yum Mix, Mineral Boost, and new garden soil. It is now August they are crowing like crazy! Great beautiful purple cones that grow so high and the leaves are very fragrant! You can't go wrong with these to edge a patio or garden area. Stunning. I will be buying these again."

— Strans (5/5)

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