Salvia azurea (Azure Blue Sage)

Azure blue sage (Salvia azurea)

Height, Spread: 3-5 ft, 2-4 ft

Water/Soil: Moist-occasionally dry, well-drained, sandy, shallow rocky 

Light: Full sun-part shade

Bloom: Midsummer-fall, pale blue tubular flowers

Native Range: Southeastern & south-central USA

Qualities: Attractive to pollinators, Deer resistant, Host plant, NC Native, Drought tolerant

Notes: Herbaceous clumping perennial found in the Sandhill and lower Piedmont regions of NC. It is significantly rare in NC. It is attractive to pollinators and is the host plant for the Hermit sphinx moth ( Lintneria eremitus). It is best used in rock gardens or prairie gardens.