Salvia greggii Mirage Salmon

Salvia greggii Mirage Salmon is a compact bushy sage that blooms abundantly from spring to autumn, without interruption if the soil remains moist in summer. Its vivid salmon-pink flowers, of a good size for this type of sage, open abundantly on a small bush adorned with small dark green leaves that are pleasantly aromatic. Moderately hardy and drought-tolerant, it is a very good plant for ornamental use on terraces or sunny flower beds. 

Salvia greggii Mirage Salmon is part of a recent series of compact and uniformly shaped bushy salvias, the "Mirages", selected for their compact and uniform habit as well as their increased floribundance. This collection offers a beautiful range of pastel or vibrant colours that can easily be mixed together or with other blooms, in pots or in the ground. The wild ancestor of the Mirage Salvias, called Texas Sage, belonging to the lamiaceae or labiate family, is an aromatic plant native to the mountains of eastern, western, and southern Mexico, as well as southern Arizona. 

Mirage Salmon Sage is a branched perennial shrub that has a bushy and erect habit, almost as wide as it is tall. It will reach approximately 45-50 cm (18-20in) in all directions, depending on the growing conditions. The nectar-rich flowering is particularly long and generous, starting from May and lasting until autumn if summer drought or cold weather do not put an end to it. The elongated almost black flower spikes emerge from the foliage. Each flower measures barely more than 2 cm (1in) in length. The two-lipped corolla, enclosed in a very dark calyx, displays a pink shade with salmon highlights. The flowers only last for a day, covering the ground with their petals in the evening, but will be replaced the next morning. The evergreen foliage is composed of small elongated leaves, 2-3 cm (1in) long, dark green, thick and aromatic, slightly sticky, releasing with heat a strong fresh and tangy-scented essential oil. In case of intense drought, the plant may partially lose its leaves, without affecting its health. New buds will develop as soon as the rains return. The plant can withstand short frosts of around -10 to -12°C in very well-drained soil.

This Mirage Salmon shrubby sage is suitable for pots and flower and shrub beds. It pairs well with spring blooms of tulips and peonies, as well as with roses, bellflowers, and other summer perennials. But its association with autumn asters is fabulous: choose those that are easy to grow such as Aster ericoides, Aster turbinellus, or Aster amellus, for example. In rockeries or dry gardens, combine it with rosemary, Perovskia, Caryopteris, Gauras, and tall Sedums (Sedum Matrona). 

In Mexico, a tasty tea is prepared with the leaves of the greggii sage, which is called 'mountain myrtle' there.