Bumbleberry packs deep fuchsia-pink flowers into a small package. The blooms sit in dark wine-purple calyxes, which makes the pink look even richer, and bumblebees find it quickly.
It stays 10 to 16 inches tall, so it fits at the front of a border, in rock gardens or in containers. The crinkled, aromatic leaves look good all season and are not bothered by rabbits or deer.
What it looks like
Short, dense flower spikes 3 to 5 inches long covered in small, two-lipped florets in dark fuchsia pink, each held in a dark wine-purple calyx. Many spikes rise evenly above the foliage. Leaves are lance-shaped, 1.5 to 2.5 inches long, deep green, aromatic and crinkled. The plant is a compact, upright clump 10 to 16 inches tall, spreading from 12 inches to about 2 feet wide with age. At peak it looks like a small cushion of hot pink and purple spikes.
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. Hardy in zones 3-8; shear the plant back by about a third after the first flush fades to encourage fresh growth and another round of flowers.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Salvia nemorosa
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Flower color: Dark fuchsia pink with wine-purple calyxes
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Foliage: Deep green
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Growth habit: Upright clump
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Mature size: 10–16 in tall × 12–25 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: Mid-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.