Salvia jamensis Lemon Light

Salvia x jamensis 'Lemon Light' is a variety of compact and bushy shrubby sage with a unique, particularly bright colour. This very dense plant produces a multitude of flowers from May-June to November, which are quite large for this type of plant, with a pale lemon yellow colour, very soft and pure. They bloom among semi-evergreen and aromatic foliage, of a bright and light green. Hardy down to -12/-15°C (10.4 to 5°F) in well-drained soil, its long pale yellow flowering will enhance that of its cousin 'Bleu Armor', with an incredible cobalt blue, as well as all blue or salmon-coloured flowers, both in the ground and in pots.

Salvia x jamensis is a natural hybrid of Salvia greggii and Salvia microphylla, which is frequently found in the mountains of Mexico. 'Lemon Light' is an excellent cultivar discovered in 2012 in a Californian sage nursery. Like all salvias, it belongs to the large family of lamiaceae or labiates. This perennial shrub has a compact, upright, bushy, branching habit, almost as wide as it is tall. It will reach about 50 cm (20 in) in height (sometimes up to 60 cm (24 in) in very fertile soil and a mild climate), with a diameter of 50 cm (20 in). The flowering is nectar-rich and particularly generous, starting from the end of spring, continuing in summer with some watering in dry climates, until autumn from September to November. Only the cold puts an end to it. The flowers emerge from the foliage, grouped in long spikes. They measure about 5 cm (2 in) in diameter and 1.6 cm (1 in) in length and are a pale yellow colour without any trace of orange or violet. They only live for a day, but will already be replaced the next morning. The foliage is evergreen in mild climates and resembles that of Salvia greigii: it consists of small ovate leaves, of light and shiny green, thick and aromatic, slightly sticky, releasing with heat an essential oil with a strong acidic odour. They measure from 1 to 2 cm (1 in) in length. This vigorous 'Lemon Light' variety tolerates pruning particularly well.

The lower light of autumn enhances the flowering of shrubby sages, which capture the light through their petals like tiny stained glass windows. These plants are part of those that have contributed to the notoriety of the Salvia genus: minimal maintenance, but almost uninterrupted flowering from spring to frost. They are found in English cottage gardens, gravel beds, and Mediterranean gardens where they persist until Christmas. This 'Lemon Light' sage will accompany the blue blooms of catmints and enhance the foliage of silver artemisias like Artemisia alba Canescens or the late spikes of Salvia leucantha in mild climates. Its association with mauve or blue autumn asters is fabulous: choose those that are easy to grow, like Aster laevis, Aster cordifolius or Aster amellus for example. Gauras, tall sedums (Sedum 'Matrona'), and shrubby potentillas will compose a charming tableau with it. On the terrace or balcony, place it in a beautiful pot in the midst of lobelias erinus for example.