Plant in full sun in well-drained soil and irrigate regularly to occasionally. Listed as hardy to USDA zone 7 (0-10 ° F) but we have had reports of plants not surviving such temperatures if grown in containers, so some protection of plants may be required in containers if temperatures drop much below 20° F for extended periods.

Salvia Mystic Spires Blue is a "dwarf form" of the venerable Salvia 'Indigo Spires', a hybrid between two large Mexican sages, Salvia longispicata and Salvia farinacea that was discovered as a chance hybrid seedling at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in the 1970's. Salvia Mystic Spires Blue, comes out of the Ball FloraPlant breeding program in Illinois and is an irradiation induced sport of 'Indigo Spires'. The irradiation occurred on May 20, 2003 and this cultivar was selected in August 2003 by Scott Trees at a test facility in Arroyo Grande, Calif. This new cultivar is more compact because of shorter internodes and has smaller leaves than Salvia 'Indigo Spires'.

It was originally registered for Plant Breeders Rights in Commonwealth countries and in the US Patent office as Salvia 'Balsalmisp' and received US Patent PP18,054 on September 18, 2007. We have heard from a gardener in Texas who notes that this plant has gotten much taller there (4-5 feet) but plants along the central coast have remained 20-24 inches tall. We grew this nice plant from 2006 until 2023. 

The information about Salvia Mystic Spires Blue ['Balsalmisp'] PP18,054 that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.