Salvia ‘Lake Garda’

Salvia 'Lake Garda' (Salvia guaranitica 'Lake Garda') is the deep blue salvia that keeps going long after the rest of the border has finished. It builds a soft upright clump about 1m tall and 80cm across inside a single season, and the leaves carry a clean aniseed scent when you brush past. Honeyeaters, bees and butterflies work the flowers right through the warm months.

Why you'll love it

• A long and genuinely blue season. Deep blue to purple tubular flowers open in waves over the warm months rather than in one short burst.
• Fast enough to fix a gap. From a tube it reaches close to its full 1m by 80cm within a season, so a bare patch does not stay bare.
• Anise scented foliage. Crushed leaves smell lightly of aniseed, a good argument for planting it where people walk past.
• One job a year. A hard cut back in late winter is most of the maintenance this plant asks for.

Where it works best

Borders and edging. It sits naturally mid bed: at 1m, tall enough to carry a border without hiding what is planted behind it.

Mass planting. Plant 60cm apart for a continuous block of blue. Each clump reaches about 80cm across, so they knit together by the second summer while air still moves through the middle.

Feature planting and pots. A single clump reads well against a pale wall, and a container 400mm or wider holds one plant for a couple of years.

Growing Salvia 'Lake Garda' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the heaviest flowering, though a few hours of afternoon shade helps in hot inland gardens. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean climates, and takes heat and dry spells in its stride. Frost is the limit: light frost only. In cool temperate gardens the top growth dies back over winter and reshoots from the base in spring, which is normal rather than a failure.

Soil. Free draining soil with compost worked through the bed. Wet feet over winter is the one thing that reliably kills it, so raise the planting position on heavy clay.

Water and feed. Deep water twice a week through the first summer, then weekly in dry weather. A complete slow release fertiliser in early spring and a lighter feed after the first flush keeps the flowering coming.

Pruning. Cut the whole clump back hard in late winter, to roughly a hand span above the ground.

What to expect when it arrives

This salvia is grown and sold as tube stock, currently on backorder and dispatched as soon as the next batch is ready. A tube is a young plant over a well developed root plug, and for a fast perennial that is the right way to buy: it establishes quickly and catches a larger plant inside one season.

Tubes travel well because they are light and the root plug holds together. Plant it out within a few days of arrival, water it in properly, and expect visible growth in two to three weeks of warm weather with flowers in the same season. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Perennials that carry a cottage garden border
• Browse bee and butterfly plants
• Plants suited to mass planting
• See the wider flowering range

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

Sixty centimetres apart for mass planting or a continuous drift. Each clump reaches about 80cm across, so that spacing lets them meet while leaving room for air to move through.

Will it survive a frosty winter?

It tolerates light frost only. In cool temperate gardens the top growth dies back after the first hard frosts then reshoots from the crown in spring, so mulch over the base and resist digging it out.

How do I keep it flowering for longer?

Shear the finished flower stems off as a group once each flush fades. Paired with a light feed, that usually brings another round within a few weeks.