Big Sky is a large-scale salvia, growing into a clump about 2.5 feet tall and wide with tall stems of violet-blue flowers rising from a thick rosette of big green leaves. It starts blooming a little later than most perennial salvias, which helps stretch the season.
Plenty of side branching keeps new spikes coming, so the display lasts. It grows fast and fills space quickly, making it a good choice for larger borders and mass plantings in full sun.
What it looks like
Tall, branched flower stems 12 to 18 inches long lined with small, hooded two-lipped florets in violet-blue, set in purplish calyxes; many secondary side spikes branch off the main stems. The flowering stems rise well above a dense basal rosette. Leaves are large, broad, oval to lance-shaped, 4 to 6 inches long, mid-green and crinkled. The plant is a full, rounded clump 28 to 32 inches tall and wide. At peak it looks like a big fountain of violet-blue spires over a thick carpet of leaves.
Growing it with lavender
Salvia wants the same full sun and lean, well-drained soil as lavender, and its upright spikes echo lavender's form while filling the gap before and after the main lavender bloom.
Care
Plant in full sun in average, well-drained soil; it is drought tolerant once established and grows quickly. Hardy in zones 3-8; after the first bloom, cut spent spikes down to the leafy base to encourage side branches and more flowers.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Salvia
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Flower color: Violet-blue
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Foliage: Mid-green
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Growth habit: Large, rounded clump with basal rosette
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Mature size: 28–32 in tall × 28–32 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
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Light: full sun
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Bloom start: Early-June
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Peak bloom: Late-June
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Bloom pattern: Repeat Blooming
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Deer resistance: Resistant
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Pollinator value: Excellent
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.