I love annual salvias (coccinea, farinacea and splendens) because they are so carefree. They sprout easily from seed indoors—I often get 100% germination. Once they are growing in the garden they need very little attention from me. The only pests that ever seem to bother them are aphids. While aphids are a nuisance and attract ants, they rarely do any cosmetic damage to the plants.
Salvia farinacea ‘Victoria’ was my go-to purple salvia for years until AAS winner ‘Evolution’ came along in 2006. ‘Victoria’ and ‘Evolution’ are great middle-of-the-border plants. This year I was excited about a new purple salvia called ‘Saga Blue’. It only grows 10 inches tall so I wanted to use it for the front of my borders. I eagerly purchased seeds and sprouted some plants indoors over winter.
‘Saga Blue’ grew wonderfully and instantly made me a fan. The flowers are the darkest-purple I’ve ever seen on an annual salvia.
Sometimes farinacea salvias have more foliage then flowers, but ‘Saga Blue’ made a colorful impression in my flowerbeds, even from a distance.The only hitch is that my plants were not 10 inches tall. Most of them grew 15 to 18 inches tall, and one clump even reached two feet.
I will definitely grow ‘Saga Blue’ again, but now I know to stick it in the middle of my borders, not in the front. Saga Blue’ looks fantastic with pink, yellow or even orange flowers, but I especially love it with deep red:
