Salvias, both shrubby and herbaceous, are prominent amongst the new entries in the
2019 RHS Plant Finder and
Salvia Rockin' Deep Purple ('Bbsal09001'), new from America, is second in the running for those stocked by the most nurseries behind
Salvia ‘Amethyst Lips’.
Salvia Rockin' Deep Purple is, basically, a short and bushy version of the popular hybrid
Salvia ‘Amistad’ that’s more suitable for small spaces.
Plants are more compact, more upright, they branch more freely and the foliage is darker. The result is a neat and sturdy and prolific plant reaching 75cm-1m in height with deep purple flowers emerging from purplish black calyces (a calyx is what covers the flower bud as it develops) and flowering from early summer to heavy frosts.
The predecessor of
Salvia ‘Amistad’, the tall and rangy
S. guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’, has blue flowers rather than the purple flowers of Rockin' Deep Purple, which also shorter than ‘Black and Blue’ and more dense with better branched growth. It also starts flowering earlier but the calyces are less black.
Salvia Rockin' Deep Purple was developed in California by plant breeder Brent Barnes using, as parents, unnamed selections from his own breeding programme. He’s also developed a rich pink version,
Salvia Rockin' Fuchsia ('Bbsal00301'). See the
2019 RHS Plant Finder for suppliers.
Please note, the contents of this blog reflect the views of its author and do not constitute an official endorsement by the RHS.
