Salvia brandegei

Brandegee's sage, named after an early American botanist, is a beautiful sage with shimmering, blue flowers. It is an evergreen shrub that grows to 3 feet tall. Brandegee's sage likes full sun, dry conditions and will grow in sandy or clay soil. It is a rare plant that is native to the canyons of Santa Rosa Island. It looks to be similar to Salvia mellifera but is heterostylous, with beautiful blue flowers and narrow, smaller leaves, with other minor leaf variations. Brandegee's sage can tolerate zero degrees Fahrenheit (low overnight temperature, for several hours). Like all sages Brandegee's sage is very fragrant. Brandegee's sage is a lovely contrast to yellow Encelia, and grows beautifully in a California-style garden with Penstemon heterophyllus, Penstemon centranthifolius, Isocoma menziesii, Eriophyllum stachaedifolium, Artemisia Montara', and Mimulus aurantiacus. Sometimes listed as Salvia brandegeei, just to confuse you. Here's a native sage page where you can see all the Salvias of California.