Salvia farinacea Strata Blue and White - seeds

Salvia farinacea 'Strata' (Blue/White) is a superb selection of mealycup sage, whose bicolour flowering has been rewarded by Fleuroselect. From summer to autumn, the plant produces generous light grey spikes adorned with beautiful ultramarine blue flowers with white-tipped lips, emerging from almost white fluffy bracts. The overall effect is a soft, bright, and refined colour combination. Seed-grown plants are compact and very uniform, making a great impact in sunny borders and containers. Although perennial, this variety is grown as an annual in most regions.

Salvia farinacea is a perennial plant native to Texas and Mexico, and like all other sages, it belongs to the Lamiaceae family. Its low hardiness and rapid growth make it an excellent annual in most climates. The 'Strata' cultivar has an upright and bushy habit, forming clumps about 45 cm tall when in flower and 40 cm wide. The plant produces clusters of more or less purplish stems, covered in fuzz and adorned with slightly greyish-green foliage. The leaves are aromatic when crushed, lanceolate in shape, slightly toothed, and covered on the underside with a whitish fuzz. From June-July to October, upright and flexible spikes appear, covered in small white hairs and adorned with bicoloured two-lipped flowers. Mealycup sages get their name from their stems covered in a light bloom.

The 'Strata Blue/White' mealycup sage will be ideal in flower beds, borders, and containers. In flower beds, it can be paired with ground cover roses, Lobelia speciosa 'Kompliment Tiefrot', and Godetia 'Rembrandt'. It can also be paired with grasses, 'Blanche' gauras, and backed by the silvery foliage of 'Powis Castle' artemisia. This plant also forms lovely borders along pathways, where it can be planted among 'Yo Yo' tomentose snow-in-summer, which will carpet its base in a gentle harmony of muted tones. Easily create a beautiful blue and yellow scene by pairing it with 'Sunsplash' heliomeris, a very floriferous dwarf sunflower. Also consider South African daisies (Arctotis, Osteospermum) in shades of pink and orange to accompany its blue spikes.