Cultivar 'Celestial Blue' | ||
Hybrid parentage S. clevelandii × S. pachyphylla, see text. Similar Salvia pachyphylla, Salvia clevelandii, Salvia leucophylla, Salvia mellifera, Salvia spathacea |
Salvia 'Celestial Blue' (also known as celestial blue sage or Las Pilitas sage), is a hybrid cross between Salvia clevelandii (Cleveland sage or chaparral sage) and S. pachyphylla (Rose's sage or mountain desert sage), and possibly involving Salvia 'Pozo Blue' — which is itself a cross between S. clevelandii and S. leucophylla (purple sage). It is native to California.
The foliage smells of musk, and the large, pale violet to periwinkle blue flowers are attractive to bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. An extremely drought- and heat-tolerant plant, introduced by Las Pilitas, a Californian native plant nursery, in 1999. It is cultivated in gardens and public landscapes.
References
Salvia 'Celestial Blue' Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA