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Desert indigo sage

Salvia arizonica

Also called Arizona Sage

Desert indigo sage
Photo: peganum from Small Dole, England, CC BY-SA 2.0

Desert indigo sage is a vigorous, perennial shrubby sage from dry mountain country in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and northern Mexico, grown for its profusion of small dark-blue flowers in summer. Key to growing it is full sun, sharp drainage and minimal water once established.

Family
Lamiaceae (Mint family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, letting the soil dry out between waterings; avoid wet roots.
Soil
Lean, fast-draining soil or gritty mix; tolerates poor, rocky ground.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters to about -15 °C; protect young plants from prolonged freezing and intense summer heat without shade.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Arizona to Texas and NE. Mexico
Climate
desert or dry shrubland

About

Salvia arizonica is a species of sage known commonly as desert indigo sage and Arizona sage. It can be distinguished from its relatives by its triangular, serrated leaves. It blooms copiously in small blue flowers. This is a vigorous sage which propagates via underground spreading runners and seeds. It is native to Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. It is frequently found at higher elevations (2100–2900 m).

Other Salvia plants

Turkish Black Sage · Wuyi Mountain Sage · Salvia adoxoides · Egyptian Sage · Orange Sage · Mediterranean sage · African Blue Sage · Salvia alatipetiolata · Cederberg Sage · Handsome Sage · Algerian Sage · Salvia amethystina

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Salvia arizonica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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