Autumn Sapphire Sage

Salvia ‘Autumn Sapphire’ is another wonderful perennial introduction by one of our favorite garden writers – Lauren Springer Odgen – and the Denver Botanic Garden. This cultivar of a West Texas native Salvia comes into bloom in late summer, when a lot of other flowering perennials are starting to slow down, and continues blooming right up until frost. That trait makes it exceptionally valuable to late-season pollinators (native bees, hummingbirds, honey bees, butterflies, etc.) and other beneficial insects.

As it name suggests, Autumn Sapphire’s flowers are a rich cobalt blue; complemented by narrow, finely-textured green leaves. Plants grow to 18″ to 20″ tall and wide, and are hardy down to zone 5. Like most other Salvias, they are also deer resistant and do best when planted in well-drained soils that are low in fertility (too much fertilizer and water will make them floppy). For best results, leave the stems up over the winter to make sure it survives the winter wet, and then prune back in spring when new leaves begin to emerge.

‘Autumn Sapphire’ performs best in well-drained soil in full, hot sun. Looking for some good companion plants? Consider pairing it with Solidago “Fireworks’, Rudbeckia, Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’, Echinacea, or Gaura – or create a mixed planting of ‘Autumn Sapphire’ and native prairie grasses like Bouteloua, Andropogon, and Schizachyrium.