Salvia verticillata Purple Fairy Tale - seeds

The 'Purple Fairy Tale' Whorled Sage (Salvia verticillata) is an excellent, floriferous and colourful selection of whorled sage. The plant produces numerous stems throughout the summer, generously adorned with tiny purple flowers nestled within purple bracts and arranged in compact clusters. This hardy perennial is easy to grow in the sun in well-drained soil. It quickly forms a beautiful cover for slightly wild areas of the garden from the first year and is a good source of nectar for bees.

Whorled Sage (Salvia verticillata) is a perennial herbaceous plant with a horizontal rhizome native to southern and central Europe, and western Asia. It grows spontaneously along paths and on barren slopes, mostly on limestone soil. This plant, like all sages, belongs to the lamiaceae or labiates family. The fast-growing cultivar 'Purple Fairy Tale' forms a compact basal clump, at least 20 cm (8in) high and 50 cm (20in) wide, composed of triangular and deeply veined, hairy, dark green leaves, with crenate toothed edges. When crushed, they emit an odour that may be unpleasant. The nectar-rich Flowering occurs from June to September as long as faded flowers are regularly removed. The purplish violet flower stems are 50-60 cm tall and branched. These are square-section stems, bearing small leaves and flowers grouped in whorls. The whorls form purplish violet clusters towards the upper part of the stems. Its hardiness is excellent in healthy and well-drained soil. The plant slowly spreads through its rhizome, and easily self-seeds in light soil, without retaining the characteristics of the parent plant.

'Purple Fairy Tale' Whorled Sage is vigorous enough to outcompete weeds. This perennial excels in natural beds, on slopes where it helps maintain stability with its deep anchoring roots, allowing it to draw in moisture even during heatwaves. In flower beds, you can grow it with bush roses along with clary sage and common sage. It also pairs perfectly with catmints, agastaches, and rose campions.

With over 900 species of annuals, perennials, and softwood shrubs distributed all over the globe, except for very cold regions and tropical forests, the genus Salvia is the most diverse in the lamiaceae family.