If you are looking for a perennial showstopper, look no further than the perennial salvia.聽 This beautiful plant is in bloom right now, with electric blue-violet flowers.聽 If you have this plant, you are likely admiring it every day just like we are!聽 But if you don鈥檛 have it, let me tell you about it and maybe you鈥檒l add it to your garden list for next year.
Perennial salvia is an easy-care plant that loves full sun ( at least six hours a day) and well-drained soil.聽 It has a clumping growth habit, which makes it a nice, neat-looking plant in the garden.聽 It grows about sixteen inches high, and when mature probably that wide, though some varieties are larger. The dainty flowers grow up the tall, thin stalks in great profusion, and when they are in full bloom, the plant is like a blue ball, simply stunning!聽 The blooms last a long time, but once they are done, they will rebloom if we cut them off.聽 Most are blue, but there are pink and white varieties as well.
The plant is drought tolerant, and after the heat of recent weeks it showed no sign of distress.聽 The blooms are also beloved by bees, hummingbirds and butterflies, a lovely bonus that they will visit our yards and enjoy them, too.
If salvias had a family reunion, they鈥檇 be gathering with their almost 1000 species cousins including cousins in the mint family such as rosemary, thyme, and their sage cousins.聽 Many of their relatives also enjoy hot, dry conditions, which make them a nice easy choice for gardeners.
The plant is easy- going in that it doesn鈥檛 have any pest issues, and does not require staking or trellises.聽 I read that if the stems do flop, it may be because of not enough sun or too much water.聽 Both issues are easily fixed!聽 The only thing they might be finicky about is 小蓝视频 crowded.聽 So if we were going to have several in a perennial border or a mass planting, allow space between them.
Perennial salvia:聽 a beautiful plant, a聽 sturdy and reliable perennial, and they make a wonderful addition to any garden!
We talked about deadheading plants when they finish blooming.聽 Why?聽 Deadheading serves a couple important functions.聽 Plants aim to make more of their own kind.聽 When a bloom is done, the plant puts all its energy into producing seed from that spent bloom.聽 At that time, it is not interested in blooming again, thinking that job is done and now it is supposed to make seeds.聽 But wait!聽 If the bloom is removed, the plant goes into 鈥渂loom mode鈥� again to start the whole process once more.聽 From a cosmetic point of view, spent blooms made any plant look tired and ragged.聽聽 Cutting off the dried and droopy blooms make the plant look so much fresher.聽 So deadheading is important!聽 It is a task that should be done regularly.聽 If you check your plants daily, deadheading takes only minutes.聽 It鈥檚 well worth the effort!
Gardeners can take advantage of the University of Saskatchewan Garden Line, 聽a free help service offered by the Plant Sciences department at the U of S.聽 They specialize in educating home gardeners about all aspects of home gardening (especially growing food) on the Canadian prairies and far north.聽 Their advice is pesticide-free.聽 Visit them at .
And be sure to visit the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society at
Thank you to our friends at Yorkton This Week for their great work.聽 Have a nice week out in your garden, and be sure to wear a hat!
