I lost the tag to this flower... but for some reason I seem to remember it being a Sage? The blooms are about thumb-nail size... kinda like the size of a Batface Cuphea. I can get more photos tomorrow if that would help with the ID. Any clues? unknown - purple bloom ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden )
It looks like an annual salvia to me. I could be wrong, but thats what it reminds me of. Usually salvia is spikier when it blooms, but if it is a volunteer it may not have a very similar form. If I am not mistaking sometimes the plants are labeled as sage, but they are not the herb sage, but are related.
Now that you mention it, I do remember buying another Salvia because I really liked the others. But this bloom doesn't resemble the other at all. Guess that's why I didn't remember it. Thanks!
Hi Cheryl, I agree, it looks like a salvia I buy as an annual in the spring, but quite often, if I don't pull it out at the roots when I clear my gardens, it comes back the next season.
Okay... time for one of those "dumb" questions. In another post, I showed a couple of Salvias that I have. http://www.gardenstew.com/post-218002.html#218002 And there's no resemblance whatsoever between these two blooms. Is the Salvia family so expansive that the blooms don't even resemble each other? And, if I didn't have this knowledgeable group of gardeners, how would I have determined that this plant was indeed a Salvia?
Cheryl, I would have to say....yep! that expansive. there are many varieties available, but the blue that you have (S. farinacea) is a smaller flowering variety. There are no blues in the form, of the ones in your tipsy planter, in the same shades. These are the S. splendens varieties. The closest I have seen in this is a red/violet purple. Not a true blue. I hope this helps some.
Thanks for the proper name Carolyn. When I did a internet search I found out it's also called Mealycup Sage. That's probably why I thought it was a Sage. So confusing. Good thing for proper names, huh?
Salvia is the Genus to somewhere between 700 and a thousand species of plants...shrubs, perennials, annuals, Some you can pick out just by looking at them and some are a surprise when you ID them. The Chia that you see advertised that grows on shaped clay pots...heads, pets, etc.....that is Salvia hispanica. I loved Mealcup Sage, I had a beautiful one out in the back yard several years ago. The blue is fantastic. Haven't found another one for sale around here, guess I will have to order one next spring.
