Salvia microphylla So Cool Purple

Salvia microphylla So Cool Purple® is a small, bright violet shrubby sage that offers a cloud of flowers on a small, dense, rounded bush from spring. This Australian selection of Graham's sage is distinguished by its prolonged flowering, compact habit and aromatic semi-evergreen foliage. In borders, in a sunny bed or in pots, it brightens the garden while requiring little maintenance.

A species of the Lamiaceae family, Graham's sage, or small-leaved sage, has the Latin names Salvia microphylla, Salvia grahamii, Salvia lemmonii, and Salvia neurepia. It is a perennial undershrub native to southern Arizona and especially the mountains of Mexico down to Guatemala. In the wild, it grows on sunny slopes and stony banks, in dry soils. From this highly variable species come many cultivars, including So Cool Purple®.
This cultivar, whose varietal name is 'Socool Purple' and commercial name SO COOL™ PURPLE, was selected in Australia by Plant Growers Australia and Innovabred and launched in 2016. It belongs to the SO COOL™ series, characterised by a compact habit, larger flowers than the type species and particularly abundant flowering in shades of blue and violet. So Cool Purple® offers intensely coloured violet corollas. The well-branched bush reaches 60 to 80 cm in height with a spread of 70 cm to 1 m, slightly less in a pot. The stems bear bright green foliage composed of small oval leaves 2 to 4 cm long, finely toothed and very fragrant when crushed. This foliage is semi-evergreen: it remains on the plant all winter in mild climates. Flowering extends from May-June until the frosts. The flowers, grouped in airy spikes, show a tubular corolla about 2 cm long, with two lips. They are rich in nectar, attracting many pollinating insects.

Use So Cool Purple® sage in sunny beds, in a perennial border or in pots. It likes light, well-drained, even stony soils, and tolerates drought once established. In a multicoloured garden, it can be combined with an ornamental grass like Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln', the yellow umbels of Achillea 'Moonshine', the large daisies of Gaillardia 'Kobold' and a scarlet shrubby sage 'Royal Bumble'.