Salvia farinacea
Annual, Perennial

Light: sun - partial shade
Height:  1 to 3 feet
Width:  4 to 8 inches
Flower Colors: rich deep blue; silvery white; bi-colors
Bloom Time: summer - fall
Special Features:
Containers
CutFlowers
Drying
Easy to Grow
Flowers
Companion Plants
Shrub roses

A good choice for beds, edgings, mass plantings, and containers, mealycup sage is an easy-to-grow annual known for its showy flower spikes in rich blue or silvery white that bloom from midsummer to frost. It grows 1 to 3 feet tall, depending on soil fertility, moisture, and the species.

Grow it as an annual in Zones 2 to 6. In mild-winter climates Zones 7 to 11 it can be grown as a perennial.

It's a long-lasting cut flower and is excellent for drying. Sometimes, in fact, it will dry right in the vase.

Notable Varieties
'Victoria Blue' is excellent -- easy to grow with gorgeous midnight-blue flowers.
'Victoria White' is elegant silvery white. 'Strata' has interesting bicolored flowers.

Care
Likes average, well-drained soil with moderate moisture. Fertilize by working in compost two or three times during the season or by applying a slow-release fertilizer, following label directions exactly. Trim spent flower spikes as they fade in color to promote the growth of more flowers.

Planting
Buy transplants not yet in flower and plant outdoors in spring after all danger of frost has passed in all zones, or plant in fall in Zones 7 to 11. Pinch the tips to induce all-important branching. To start from seed, sow uncovered, indoors, 6 to 8 weeks before last frost. Space 6 to 12 inches apart.

Pests and Diseases
Damping off, leaf spot, rust, aphid, stalk borer, and leafhopper can all occasionally cause problems.