Salvia pratensis Sky Dance - Meadow Sage

The Salvia pratensis 'Sky Dance' is a variety of meadow sage that charms with its long sky-blue flowering. Its heavenly flower spikes certainly inspired its lovely name, 'Sky Dance'. This perennial sage forms a bushy clump of leafy stems and blooms for several weeks starting in late spring. Hardy, water-efficient, and tolerant of limestone soils, it is one of the easiest perennials to grow. This field flower, which is very popular with pollinators, excels in borders or mass plantings, in full sun or partial shade.

Native to Western Europe to the Caucasus, the meadow sage, in Latin Salvia pratensis, is a hardy herbaceous perennial plant that tolerates sun and dry soils. 'Sky Dance' is a horticultural selection,slightly shorter with light blue flowers. Its leafy stems form a clump that can measure 40-50 cm (16-20in) in diameter. The plant flowers from late May to July-August, in successive waves, and earlier or later depending on the climate. It produces numerous multiflorous spike inflorescences, carried at a height of 50 cm (20in), with bilabiate flowers. They are highly prized by butterflies and bees. The leaves are ovate to oblong, rough, with crenate margins, more or less large, forming beautiful green foliage. They are aromatic when crushed. It is partially deciduous in winter: a rosette of leaves persists in winter, but its leafy stems emerge from the ground in spring. This sage tolerates dry soils in summer, which cause this plant to go into vegetative rest in arid regions during this time of year.

The 'Sky Dance' meadow sage is vigorous enough to outcompete weeds. Just like its blue ancestor, it works wonders in a meadow garden or on slopes, which it helps to stabilize with its roots. Deep roots allow this perennial to draw in freshness even when heatwaves occur. It is a very resistant plant, tolerating spartan growing conditions. It tolerates limestone well and can even grow on chalky hillsides. In borders, associate it with clary sage, common sage, landscape roses, Chinese peonies, Nepeta x faassenii, Lychnis coronaria, germanders,

With over 900 species of annuals, perennials, and softwood shrubs distributed throughout the world, except in very cold regions and tropical forests, the genus Salvia is the most diverse in the family Lamiaceae. The name Salvia, which dates back to Roman times, derives from the Latin salvus 'healthy' in reference to the medicinal properties of common sage.