Velvet Mexican Bush Sage Salvia leucantha Plant 5 gallon

Velvet Mexican Bush Sage Salvia leucantha Plant

Velvet sage, also called Mexican bush sage is a perennial in the Lamiaceae family. It is a relative garden newcomer but is seen today gracing the late summer garden across the state. It is only hardy from the lower Piedmont to the coastal plain, and extreme winters may kill it. The flower stalks bear persistent flower bases which are velvety and purplish and short-lived flowers. The specific epithet 'leucantha' comes from the Latin words 'leucos' meaning "white" and 'anthos' meaning flower.

Salvia leucantha, commonly called Mexican bush sage, is an evergreen shrubby perennial that is native to Central America and Mexico. In St. Louis, it is grown as an annual that typically rises 2-3’ tall in a single growing season. This sage is most noted for producing a very attractive late summer to frost bloom of showy bicolor flowers consisting of white corollas and longer-lasting funnel-form purple calyces. Flowers appear in dense, arching, terminal spikes (racemes to 10” long) that extend above the foliage.

Flowers are attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds. Linear, lance-shaped, gray-green leaves (to 4” long) are borne in pairs on square stems. Foliage has a velvet-like texture, hence the sometimes used common name of velvet sage for this species.

Your plant will be shipped with the roots wrapped in damp paper towels and with plastic and ready to plant upon arrival. The plant will be between 2 to 3 feet in height. Planting guidelines will also be included. 

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