Salvia elegans Golden Delicious

The Salvia elegans 'Golden Delicious' is a stunning and rare perennial plant. This fabulous undershrub is a natural mutation of the Pineapple Sage. Its flavourful and fragrant foliage emerges green-yellow and gradually turns bright yellow over time. In autumn its blood-red flowers explode like fireworks, with large scarlet flower spikes splashing the golden mass of its foliage. While this plant is not very hardy, it is robust and victorious in milder climes, in well-drained or even occasionally dry soil. This collector's plant will find a place in sunny flower beds, in aromatic gardens, or in a large pot to be stored over winter in cold climates.

The Salvia elegans, like all salvias, belongs to the family of Lamiaceae or Labiates. This perennial with creeping rhizomes is native to Mexico and Guatemala, where it colonises pine and oak forests at medium altitudes, which explains its low hardiness. 'Golden Delicious' spontaneously appeared in 2001 in the United States, in the heart of a bouquet of classic pineapple salvias. The plant forms a beautiful clump with a spreading habit composed of semi-woody and hairy stems bearing triangular, rich-to-the-touch, bright yellow leaves with a surprising pineapple scent and flavour. It reaches a height of 80 cm to 1 m (31.5 in to 3 ft 4 in), sometimes more under the right conditions, with a minimum diameter of 80 cm (31.5 in) if not destroyed by frost. The nectar-rich and honey-scented blooms are also flavourful. Characteristic of short-day plants, flowering occurs in October or November, then in March, in open ground in mild climates or in a cold frame in cold climates. The flower spikes are upright and branched. They have slightly purplish square-sectioned stems bearing long and slender scarlet tubular flowers, surrounded at the base by a bright yellow sheathing calyx. The hardiness of this species does not exceed -7°C (19°F) in a protected position and in dry soil during winter.

The obvious ornamental qualities of the 'Golden Delicious' Pineapple Sage make it an exceptional flowerbed plant. In nature Pineapple Sage grows in rather moist but well-drained soils, under a mountainous but warm climate. 'Golden Delicious', generous and unique, will bring a lot of joy to late-season perennial or annual flower beds, in the company of silvery-leaved shrubby artemisias, perennial chrysanthemums, or to warm up the last roses in the garden. Placed in front of a small winged euonymus (Eunymus alatus compactus), smoke bush (Cotinus), or prunifolia spirea, its brilliant flowering and dazzling foliage will blend with their autumn foliage to create a veritable landscape of fire. On the terrace, place it in a large pot to admire it up close, enjoy its show, have it within reach when cooking, and store it away from severe frost during winter.

Culinary idea: Pineapple sage leaves can be used fresh or frozen in ice cubes. They are used in exotic dishes to enhance pork, duck or veal, but also in sweet and sour recipes. They make excellent herbal teas. The flowers are also edible and can be used to flavour desserts, add a colourful touch to fruit salads, or brighten up cocktails, pastries, and sorbets.