 Salvia africana-lutea
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- common names: dune sage
- flowering season: summer
- height: no more than 2 feet tall in a season, up to 6 feet tall with age in USDA Zones 9 - 11
- Light requirements: sun
- Soil requirements: average
- Water requirments: average to low
- Growth habit: bushy
- How to propagate: tip cuttings in early summer
- Leaf type: grayish-green leaves
- Ways to use it: makes a most unusual addition to a mixed planting in the garden or in a large pot to decorate your house outdoors in summer
This large 1 to 1½-inch flower has a rich and unusual color of warm chocolatey brown. It also has an attractive largish cup-shaped purplish calyx after the petals fall off . The flowerbud starts a lighter color but soon changes to brown. Flowers come in open clusters on short stems above the foliage. The leaves are wavy, aromatic and tinted a grayish-green. The stems hold themselves up well without flopping. Because of their spicy fragrance, the leaves and flowers are good additions to potpourri. And also because the flower keeps its interesting shape when dried. Native to Africa, where it is known as dune sage, a plant grows to six feet and and is often found at seaside. Being hardy only to USDA Zones 9 to 11, we enjoy it outdoors during the summer, and start new plants the following spring. In a container or in the ground, it would combine nicely with many other sun-loving plants. It grows quickly and is undemanding. Not often seen until recently, even in California. Our plants are not grown from seeds but from cuttings, and will match the color of the photos. |
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