Salvia 'Celestial Blue'

'Celestial Blue' Sage was named by the founder of Las Pilitas nursery, Bert Wilson, for his wife Celeste and introduced to the nursery trade by him. It was a seedling that came from seed he collected collected in the Las Pilitas Nursery demonstration garden.

Celestial Blue Sage is a hybrid between Salvia clevelandii 'Alpine' and Salvia pachyphylla or a three way hybrid with 'Pozo Blue' which would add Salvia leucophylla into the mix. Very stable and tolerant of almost gravel for soil and extreme heat, has also grown in part shade, in the interior, and daily water for about five years, and has been stunning in coastal clay with no water.

Salvia 'Celestial Blue' flowers are large for a sage, fragrant and almost pop out of a bouquet with the glow of blue purple. On one happy plant, the flowers stayed for 2 years, just slowly getting bigger. Each flower can be visited by a hummingbird, butterfly, moth, and then, fifteen minutes later another hummingbird, butterfly and moth. The swallowtails are embarrassingly in love with the flowers.

Like Blueberry jam on bread, layer Celestial Blue Sage with Sunset Manzanita. Add a dash of Buckwheat if you want some butter with that.  Or mix with the rest of the family Bert's Bluff, Penelope Monkey, and Ian Manzanita.

Eleven on the stun-o-meter.

Here's a native sage page where you can see all the sages of California.