searching for a blue Salvia greggii

Salvia greggii (Autumn Sage) is a commonly planted sage here in Albuquerque. It has a lot going for it. Although it is called Autumn Sage, it starts blooming very early in the spring, and has an impressive spring flush of flowers covering the plant. It then blooms throughout the summer, although some cultivars bloom more than others, and some stop blooming altogether in the heat. Then in the Autumn, it lives up to its name and puts out another huge flush of flowers and then keeps blooming until frost. It is also drought tolerant, needing little irrigation, but blooming more with some supplementation like most plants. The leaves have scent glands and rubbing against a plant will leave its telltale scent on you for a while. It's a pleasant scent. It needs little grooming, but looks better with some attention. A neighbor prunes hers ruthlessly to the ground every year, and every year, hers springs back up to bloom all summer. The only problem that I have with it is the color. The flower colors that I see are primarily red or pink/red. Occasionally I see a coral, or pink, or rarely, white. Although these colors are nice, what I've been longing for a Salvia greggii that is blue, or violet to match my garden design. A number of years ago, a hybrid came out called 'Ultraviolet' and although it is purplish, it is on the more pink side of purple, and I've never warmed to this color. Fortunately, there are some small shrubby, hardy salvias with blue/violet flowers available, and more have come out recently. For this discussion, I'm going to ignore the many tropical/subtropical purple or blue salvias that are not hardy in this area, or Salvia pitcheri, which although native and blue, is quite tall, and also has a relatively brief blooming season in the fall).

Salvia chamaedryoides (oak-leaf sage).
This may be the first of the blue sub-shrub salvias that I ever met. It is borderline hardy here, although I've never had one have winter kill. I first saw this plant at Judith Phillips' nursery and it was absolutely covered with amazing blue flowers. Leaves are grey, and the plant is slightly stoloniferous (underground runners).  The blue color of the flowers is amazing and the camera never quite gets it right. Plants are very drought tolerant.

Salvia chamaedryoides

Salvia chamaedryoides

Salvia chamaedryoides 'Marine'
This is supposedly a selection of the species S. chamaedryoides. I just bought this one from Agua Fria nursery this year. The flowers are darker blue, the plant taller, the leaves greener, and the flower stems longer. I suspect that it is a hybrid. Unless I was sold something that isn't truly 'Marine'.

Salvia chamaedryoides 'Marine'

Salvia chamaedryoides 'Marine'

Here they are, side by side, to show the difference. I planted them side by side because I thought they would look the same. Clearly not. S.c. 'Marine' on the left and species Salvia chamaedryoides on the right.

Salvia daghestanica
Another salvia with blue flowers that I became acquainted with early in my gardening here in New Mexico is Salvia daghestanica (below), introduced by High Country Gardens. It's not really comparable to Salvia greggii, in that it does not have the plant habit of a small shrub. It is more of a mat forming perennial. But it has blue-purple flowers. The other difference is that it only has a rather brief bloom period in the spring. In the winter the entire plant looks dead brown, although leaves are silver when actively growing. It is also extremely sensitive to too much moisture and soil fungus.

Salvia daghestanica

Salvia daghestanica

Salvia coahuilensis (?), Salvia 'Blue Note' (?)
I planted a blue-purple salvia, sold to me as Salvia coahuilensis, at my old house. It had gorgeous dark purple flowers, and bloomed all summer, but became rather weedy looking as the season progressed. It was also strongly stoloniferous (not a characteristic of S. greggii), and overtook my other plantings. I ruthlessly dug it out. In my new garden, I planted another, this time sold as Salvia greggii 'Blue Note' (but exactly the same in appearance, growth habit, scent, color). I seriously doubt that it is Salvia greggii.  I also seriously doubt that it is Salvia coahuilensis. In any case, it has strongly fragrant leaves, and is quite drought tolerant, although preferring a little less sun than S. greggii. It does have its qualities, although it is a little sprawly. It looks better in my new garden, but I think I've been a little too hard on it.

Salvia x 'Elk Blue Note'
Recently I became aware of the Elk series of salvias at Flowers by the Sea. One in particular was a striking violet blue, called 'Elk Blue Note' (not to be confused with 'Blue Note' mentioned above).  It also recently became available at Annies Annuals. As you can imagine, I had to have this and planted a couple this spring. So far it has grown steadily and has produced a constant stream of flowers. It has never become "covered with flowers" and to be honest, the dark color disappears in to the background. But the flowers themselves are striking. This winter I will discover if it is hardy. It is a darker blue than 'Blue Note' and is shrubbier, with less lax branches and flower stems, so I don't think it is the same as 'Blue Note'.

Salvia x 'Elk Blue Note'

Salvia x 'Elk Blue Note'

It is a bit silly of me to forget the common bedding salvia, Salvia farinacea, which is native to southern New Mexico. It is killed to the ground by frost here, and doesn't have the habit of Salvia greggii, so it is not really a blue S. greggii contender, but I'm trialling a few cultivars this year.