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Unplugged® So Blue Mealycup Sage Salvia farinacea

Flower Season
  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Fall
Mature Size
2' 16" 61cm 41cm
Height: 14" - 2'
Spread: 12" - 16"
Height: 36cm - 61cm
Spread: 30cm - 41cm
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  • Details

    14 - 24 Inches
    10 - 14 Inches
    12 - 16 Inches
    36cm - 61cm
    25cm - 36cm
    30cm - 41cm

    Features

    True blue flowers on mid-sized plants that love heat, don't mind humidity and will bloom non-stop for months. A good sized plant, but not too large. It is right-sized for containers and good for use in landscapes as well.

    Award Winner
    Continuous Bloom or Rebloomer
    Long Blooming
    Fall Interest
    Heat Tolerant
    Deadheading Not Necessary
    Drought Tolerant
    Attracts: 
    Bees
    Butterflies
    Hummingbirds
    Resists: 
    Deer

    Characteristics

    Plant Type: 
    Annual
    Height Category: 
    Medium
    Garden Height: 
    14 - 24 Inches 36cm - 61cm
    Spacing: 
    10 - 14 Inches 25cm - 36cm
    Spread: 
    12 - 16 Inches 30cm - 41cm
    Flower Colors: 
    Blue
    Flower Shade: 
    True Blue
    Foliage Colors: 
    Green
    Foliage Shade: 
    Silvery Green
    Habit: 
    Upright
    Container Role: 
    Thriller

    Plant Needs

    Light Requirement: 
    Part Sun to Sun

    The optimum amount of sun or shade each plant needs to thrive: Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (4-6 hours), Full Shade (up to 4 hours).

    Maintenance Category: 
    Easy
    Bloom Time: 
    Planting To Hard Frost
    Hardiness Zones: 
    8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
    Water Category: 
    Average
    Soil Fertility Requirement: 
    Average Soil
    Soil Fertility Requirement: 
    Poor Soil
    Uses: 
    Border Plant
    Uses: 
    Container
    Uses: 
    Landscape
    Uses: 
    Mass Planting
    Uses Notes: 

    A great plant for attracting pollinators.  It works equally well in landscapes and containers and blooms for weeks on end.

    Maintenance Notes: 

    This is a wonderful annual Salvia (except in frost free zones), compact and richly colored, it is easy and trouble free. It will just bloom, and bloom and bloom all season without stopping.

    You can easily trim to keep the shape or size where you want it, and it will branch out and become even thicker and more full of flowers. Although that should not be necessary.

    Regular watering and fertilizing will keep the plant at maximum color and growth but it is amazingly tough and once established in a pot or the garden will tolerate lower levels of food and water. However, severe drought will cause lower leaves to drop and if this happens give it a quick haircut removing the upper 1/3 of growth and once it back to normal watering it will fill back in.

    It is a big attractor of bees! They love the sweet nectar in the flowers, so place it accordingly; a bit farther from seating areas if bees are a concern. It is always great to have a plant that will support our native bees!!

    Unplugged® So Blue Salvia farinacea 'G14251' USPP 32,695, Can 6,537
  • 5 Reviews

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    Browse reviews from people who have grown this plant.
    • Amazing Plants to look at and a pollinators dream. These are the most prolific plants for bees of all kinds and worth every cent. They came perfectly packaged and very healthy. You won't be disappointed. I've bought this and Rockin' Playin' The Blues Mealycup Sage here at PW and at local nurseries who carry them. Love these. I'd like to share something with you about my experience from the RPTB but can be applied to this one as well. "I love these flowers and so many of the pollinators do to! I have several from the website and others I bought at nurseries. I'm heartbroken that we had a wind and rainstorm come thru and all of them collapsed with the bumblebees sleeping on them and not sure how many survived. From now on with these plants I'll be planting with square cages to keep them propped up. I don't care about the beauty they add to my home but the pollinators attraction and survival of them, so the presence of cages is minuscule. I have them planted in deep fabric pots and learned to not place them near birdbaths etc underneath or water too near the plants. I've had a couple drown by not realizing they can accidentally fall in. I'm just sharing my own learning experiences so others don't make the same mistakes. I'll be getting at least a half dozen next year and do a better job of protecting them from the elements when Mother Nature is in charge. I'm so sad right now." I hope this helps others so the same won't happen to you.

      Bea
      , Virginia
      , United States
      , 1 year ago
    • Striking look, the pictures do not capture the bright coloring, especially the vibrant blue stems. They're thriving in containers after about 2 months.

      KC
      , 1 year ago
    • the gardening season of 2020 was my first experience with this outstanding plant. It is so easy to care for in both beds and pots. It requires virtually no deadheading, has strong growth, blooms magnificently and consistently throughout the entire growing season and is a magnet for pollinators. I love the colour of the blooms. I planted it as a back drop for white daisies and pink geraniums. I could not have asked for stronger performance. I love it and will welcome it back next year to my zone 3-4 garden. in Manitoba.

      Therese Koturbash
      , Manitoba
      , Canada
      , 4 years ago
    • I planted 4 unplugged salvia in containers, near my vegetable garden. What a bee magnet! The blue flowers are simply gorgeous, I am in zone 5 and it is 8/30/2020, they still look great. I plan to buy 6 of these next spring.

      greg
      , New Hampshire
      , United States
      , 4 years ago
    • Grew in part sun In a container. Loved the blue stem. Beautiful plant

      Cherie
      , Pennsylvania
      , United States
      , 4 years ago
  • 37 Awards

    Award Year Award Plant Trial
    2022 Top Performer - In Ground South Dakota State - McCrory Gardens
    2021 Top Performer Michigan State University
    2021 Top Performer University of Florida - Fort Lauderdale
    2021 Top Performer Oklahoma State University Botanical Gardens
    2021 Top Performer Boerner Botanical Garden
    2021 Perfect Score University of Tennessee - Knoxville
    2021 Top Performer - Container University of Minnesota - Grand Rapids
    2021 Perfect Score University of Minnesota - Morris
    2021 Top Performer in Ground Annuals South Dakota State - McCrory Gardens
    2021 Best of Breed - Beds North Carolina State, JC Raulston Arboretum
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