Blue sage

The name of Salvia was probably derived from 'salvus', meaning safe, well or sound. This referred to supposed plant medicinal properties. The term 'azurea' describes the 'sky blue' color for Blue Sage.

Two common names are Blue Sage and Pitcher Sage. Pitcher Sage is named after Dr. Zina Pitcher, a US Army Field surgeon and botanist in the 1820's. He was tenaciously curious about nature and several plants were named for him.

Salvia azurea is in the Lamiaceae (Mint) family. The particular variety in Arkansas is Salvia azurea var. grandiflora.

There is something very special about blue flowers and the flowers of Blue Sage are no exception. Their color varies in intensity from light sky blue to dark azure blue and occasionally white.

Flowers occur in whorls (actually verticillasters) along the stem with each whorl containing many buds. The whorls may not be obvious at first glance because only 1-3 of the many buds are usually blooming at once. Salvia azurea has a long flowering period which may extend from late July through September and into October.

Each flower has a tubular shape with 2 lips- a hooded upper lip and a much larger lower lip. The large lower lip acts as a 'landing pad' for pollinators (primarily large bees).

The flower becomes narrow where the two lips join. This tight area is known as the throat and contains the nectary. Each flower has 2 stamens positioned side by side and connected. The stamens have a fertile, pollen coated end and a sterile end without pollen. The fertile end is located in the hood with the sterile end in the throat.

When a large bee pushes its head deep into the flower to reach nectar, it bumps into the sterile end of the anthers, causing the filaments with pollen to pivot down from the hood, brushing the bee's head and covering it with pollen. Such an ingenious mechanism!

Upon visiting another flower, the bee transfers pollen to the pistil of that flower when it inserts its head to reach the nectar. This pollinates the flower if the stigma is in a receptive state. The stigma only becomes receptive after the anthers shed their pollen. This protects against self-fertilization.

Blue sage reaches a height between 3-5 feet. It has serrated leaves positioned opposite one another on square, pubescent stems. Each pair of leaves is oriented 90 degrees from the prior pair. Leaf undersides are densely pubescent with the upper surface being slightly pubescent or without hairs.

The plant has a mild scent somewhat like sage.

While Salvia azurea attracts many different insects including bees, butterflies, skippers, syrphid flies, soldier beetles, spiders, and many more, Bumble bees are the primary pollinators. Here in northern Arkansas, I find the American Bumble bee (Bombus pensylvanicus) to be one of the most frequent pollinators. American Bumble bees are in significant decline and may be at risk of extinction, so I am always happy to see them.

Another frequent Bumble bee visitor is the Common Eastern Bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) as well as the Two-spotted Bumble bee (Bombus bimaculatus).

Carpenter bees also visit the flowers, but they aren't pollinators. Their head is too large to insert into the flower as the bumble bees do. Instead, they pierce the back of the tubular flower to get at the nectar, bypassing the pollen. This is sometimes referred to as 'stealing' nectar because they aren't performing any pollination services for the plant.

Butterflies and skippers are frequent visitors of Blue sage. They are seeking nectar. Take a look below for some examples.

The activity on Salvia azurea isn't limited to bees, butterflies and skippers. Birds, moths, spiders and more use this plant for food and perches.

Blue sage can be found in varied habitats ranging from rocky glades in full sun to woodland edge and prairies or grasslands. It doesn't like wet feet, preferring a location with good drainage. Flowering is best on plants in full sun. While very drought tolerant, plants may wilt a bit during severe droughts, perking up quickly quickly after a rainfall.

Deer and rabbits don't seem to find Blue sage palatable, so you won't have to worry about fencing it off of finding imaginative ways to foil the critters!

Salvia azurea var. grandiflora is found in the central U.S. from Utah to Ohio and from Iowa to Louisiana and Texas. It has Imperiled status in Colorado and Vulnerable status in Tennessee. It is Apparently Secure in Kentucky and Secure in Kansas. All other states within its range show No Status on Natureserve.

While Salvia azurea grows above ground to 3-5 feet, below ground it can grow much deeper! It has a branched root system that has been shown to respond to drought by doubling its root depth, reaching down over 8 feet. Weaver and Albertson (1943) found that Salvia azurea (among some other prairie plants) doubled its pre-drought root depth. Although this indicates it is extremely drought tolerant, in a garden setting, you may still notice wilting during severe droughts. However, know that your established plants of Salvia azurea are among the best drought survivors.