'Black & Blue'
Anise Sage
"May his leaves be healing herbs for the sick.
May much good work be done in his shadow."
-Yunus Emre
(1238-1320)
(1238-1320)
Salvia guaranitica Blue Anise Sage or Anise Scented Sage is also called Brazillian Blue Sage due to its nativity in southeastern Brazil, Paraguay & northern Argentina, or Sapphire Sage for its jewel-bright blooms.
It can be sensitive to cold & can be tender in our region (Zone 8), but is right on the margin of reliably perennializing in the Pacific Northwest, returning each year bigger & flowerier than the last.
In areas where winters fall below 20 degrees F., it can still do quite well as an annual. In Zone 9 or 10 it will not be sensitive, but may on the contrary require a bright shade location since its large leaves will be injured if conditions are actually deserty.
It likes moist well-draining soil, but dislikes overwatering, & can be at some risk of rotting out of the gardening during our wet winters if soil drains poorly. Ours is partially protected by eaves of the house in an area not too awfully wet in winter. In a more open area where it is subject to winter rains, a winter mulch of large-sized leaves may help barrier the soil somewhat.
It grows into a three or four feet tall, potentially a six foot semi-woody shubshrub if allowed to get lanky & not annually pruned. To look its best it really needs to be cut back severely in late winter or early spring so that it will remain a bit shorter & more compact.
It takes until June to grow back, but if the previous year's growth is left, the new growth will not be as fine, so it is not a good idea to resfrain from completely cutting back whatever is left of it from winter. Some early-blooming bulbs may be nice in the same location to have their showing before the blue anise sage is renewing itself.
The cultivar 'Black & Blue' has largish (one- to two-inch) tubular & open parrot-beak ("bilabiate") blossoms of cobalt blue with black calyces (where the regular species would be green). An "orniphilic" flower, the shape is intended foremost to be inviting to hummingbirds.
These bicolor flowers are present over a long period from mid-summer to deep into autumn, at least until first frost. Ours blooms July until at least November. Deadheading the spent flowers helps to keep it reblooming. If it per chance stops blooming before summer's end, cut it back by one-third to one-half & it will take off flowering anew. The persistance of its flowering is one of its great assets.
The attractive round pointed foliage is usually a dark even green, but occasionally a paler green. The leaves are so sweet-scented it has almost the scent of candy, hence the common name anise sage, though the scent is not really anise-like, it's more of a candied sage. It takes only a slight brushing into it in order to release its wondrous odor.
As for edibility, it is not regarded as one of the tastier sages, but a single leaf cut into small bits & sprinkled into a mixed salad would certainly add an appealing odor.
Spreading rhizomitously, over time the clump can spread to three feet wide. Large clumps can be divided in spring. Or starts can be made from softwood cuttings in spring, or ripening summer cuttings, or from terminal cuttings from any month of the growing seasons.
It needs the fullest sun exposure to flower its best; it'll be lanky & tip over if it experiences much shade, but will still bloom. A light slow-release fertilizing in early spring is enough, though some recommend monthly liquid fertilizer during its blooming period (I'd regard that as much too much, though it might require more regular fertilizing in containers).