Salvia pratensis Rose Rhapsody - Meadow Sage

The Salvia pratensis 'Rose Rhapsody' is a meadow sage selected for its beautiful delicate pink flowering that spreads from spring to summer. This perennial sage is robust, very hardy, undemanding and charming. Bees also appreciate this honey plant that can be placed in sunny flower beds or in a pot on the balcony.

This meadow sage is a perennial species that tolerates both the cold and sun, as well as dry soils. The variety 'Rose Rhapsody' is easy to cultivate, and its flowers are larger and a beautiful pastel pink without any trace of blue. Its leafy stems form a tuft that can measure 40 cm (16in) in diameter. The plant flowers from late May to July, in successive waves, earlier or later depending on the climate. This plant produces numerous multiflorous spike inflorescences, and reaches a height of 50 cm (20in), with bilabiate flowers. They are highly prized by butterflies and bees. The leaves are ovate to oblong, rough, with crenate margins, more or less large, forming a beautiful vegetation. They have an aromatic scent when crushed. This plant is partially deciduous with a rosette of leaves persisting during winter, but the leafy stems not emerging from the ground until spring. This sage tolerates dry soils in summer, which leads it to go into vegetative rest in arid regions during this time of year.

The 'Rose Rhapsody' meadow sage is vigorous enough to eliminate weed competition. Just like its blue ancestor, this plant excels in a meadow garden or on slopes, which helps it to maintain its roots. Deeply anchored, the roots allow this perennial to draw in freshness even when heatwaves strike. It is a very resistant plant, enduring prolonged periods of drought and Spartan growing conditions. This plant tolerates limestone well, even growing on chalky slopes. In a flower bed, associate it with clary sage, common sage, landscape roses or romantic roses, Chinese peonies, Nepeta x faassenii, Lychnis coronaria, germanders, 

With over 900 species of annuals, perennials, and soft-wooded shrubs distributed across the globe, except for very cold regions and the tropical forest, the Salvia genus is the richest in the Lamiaceae family. The name Salvia, which dates back to Roman times, derives from the Latin salvus "healthy" in reference to the medicinal properties of common sage.