Salvia setulosa

Salvia setulosa, sometimes called bristly sage, is a wild sage native to Mexico. It is not very spectacular and is little known to gardeners. It is a slightly creeping plant, tender but well adapted to dry soils. It is recognised by its hairy, fairly dark green vegetation and its reasonably discreet blue summer flowering. Like other sages, it has melliferous flowers and aromatic leaves. Outside of Mediterranean gardens spared by severe frosts, it can be grown in a planter, which allows it to be stored away for the winter.

Salvia setulosa is native to Mexico, specifically the provinces of Mexico and Oaxaca, where it is found at an altitude of up to 1830 m. Like all other sages, it belongs to the large family of Lamiaceae or Labiatae. It is a woody-based herbaceous perennial species which has a more or less creeping habit. Fast-growing, the plant reaches about 60 cm in height with a minimum spread of 40 cm. Its foliage is theoretically evergreen in winter; its leafy stems are covered with short hairs. Its leaves measure up to 6 cm long and 4 cm wide; they are deltoid in shape, with crenate margins and a relatively dark green colour on the upper side. This sage blooms between June and August in a Mediterranean climate. At the end of the stems, short spikes form with whorls or crowns of 3 small bilabiate flowers of a relatively light blue colour. Butterflies and bees highly prize Melliferous and nectariferous.
The hardiness of this bristly sage does not exceed -6 °C at its coldest in well-drained, sandy or rocky soil, dry in winter. It is a collectable sage that can be grown in full sun in a Mediterranean climate. Elsewhere, it can be grown in a pot to protect it from excessive moisture and severe frosts in winter. In border plantings or rock gardens, for example, it can be paired with thymes, oregano, santolines or even Erigeron karvinskianus.

With over 900 species of annuals, perennials, and bushes distributed all over our planet, except for very cold regions and tropical forests, the genus Salvia is the richest in the Lamiaceae family. The name Salvia, which dates back to Roman times, derives from the Latin salvus "healthy" in allusion to the medicinal properties of common sage.