Salvia Big Blue seeds - Hybrid sage

The hybrid Salvia 'Big Blue' is a tender perennial grown as an annual for its decorative and prolonged flowering. This heat-resistant sage offers superb upright spikes of intense violet-blue, carried above a well-branched clump from summer until the first frosts. Elegant and generous, awarded multiple times, 'Big Blue' is ideal for summer beds, borders, flowering pots and for making bouquets.

Salvia 'Big Blue' (Salvia longispicata × farinacea 'Big Blue', 'PAS1246577') is a sterile horticultural hybrid introduced by PanAmerican Seed in 2017. The result of a cross-breeding between Salvia longispicata, a large shrubby perennial native to the mountainous regions of southwestern Mexico, and Salvia farinacea, a perennial species from Texas and Mexico, this sage belongs to the Lamiaceae family.
Salvia 'Big Blue' has been celebrated with several major horticultural awards that confirm its exceptional qualities in the garden. It notably received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), a recognition that highlights its performance, reliability and ease of cultivation. It also distinguished itself in the European trials organised by Fleuroselect. Across the Atlantic, it was crowned Best of Show in 2019 at the famous annual flower trials of the Colorado State University Trial Garden, thanks to its exceptional flowering and remarkable visual impact.
Not very hardy (approximately -6°C), but fast-growing, 'Big Blue' is generally grown as an annual in temperate regions. It has an elegant habit, both upright and bushy, reaching 50 cm in height when in flower, with a 40 cm spread. Its sturdy stems are covered at their base with broad ovate, dark green leaves with toothed edges and prominent veins, quite different from that of mealy sages. The flowering begins tentatively in July, intensifies in August-September and reaches its peak in October-November. Above the well-furnished foliage appear upright, dense, 30 cm long spikes filled with small, deep violet-blue flowers. The plant is sterile and does not produce viable seeds, which allows it to devote all its energy to tirelessly flowering until the first frosts.

The hybrid sage 'Big Blue' integrates very easily into all gardens. It will naturally find a place in beds, for example with white cosmos 'Sonata White', pink zinnias 'Zinderella Lilac' or agastaches in pastel tones. In autumn, it will highlight the glowing foliage of the dwarf winged spindle. Its height also pairs very well with light grasses like Stipa tenuifolia, or airy perennials like Verbena bonariensis. For a softer effect, it can emerge from a cushion of silver helichrysum or settle near lavenders or santolinas. It also creates superb borders, especially alongside border bellflowers or Erigeron karvinskianus. In flowering pots, ‘Big Blue’ pairs beautifully with Diascia Breezee Plus Orange, mauve petunias or annual lobelias. Its lavender-like spikes also hold very well in a vase.