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Salvia leucophylla 'Amethyst Bluff' (Large Purple Sage) - 'Amethyst Bluff' is a large native California salvia with aromatic silvery foliage and 12 inch long, vivid purple-pink flower spikes. Starts out as a low-mounding shrub and eventually can reache up to 10 feet in height and continues to spread out laterally, up to 15 feet wide.
This highly versatile shrub is ideally suited for full sun and tolerates fairly heavy soils and occasional summer irrigation and is cold hardy to 20-25° F (Sunset zones 18-24). This a great large selection of the species that attracts hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. It works well in floral arrangements and is a perfect choice for sunny slopes and banks where it can sprawl freely and provide some erosion control.
Salvia leucophylla grows naturally within the coastal sage plant community along the lower elevations of the coastal ranges of California south into Baja California. The type specimen for the species was collected near Santa Barbara, California by Scottish botanist David Douglas (who Douglas Fir was named for) who collected plants along the Pacific coast on three separate expeditions from 1823 until 1834. It was officially described by American botanist Edward Lee Greene in 1892.
The name Salvia comes from the Latin name used by Pliny for the plant and comes from the Latin word 'salvere' meaning "to save" in reference to the long-believed healing properties of several Sage species and the specific epithet is from the Greek words 'leukos' meaning "shining" or "white" and 'phyllon' meaning leaf for the white leaves. The common name Purple Sage refers to the pale purple flowers and it is also sometimes called Gray Sage for the whitish gray leaves.
This larger selection of purple sage with darker flowers was made by horticulturist Carol Bornstein from the coastal Bluffs of Point Sal in northern Santa Barbara County. We grew this plant from 2001 until 2003.
The information displayed on this page about Salvia leucophylla 'Amethyst Bluff' is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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