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Bumbleblue Salvia - Bare Root Plant

$13.20
$13.20 $25.12
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Size : Bare Root Plant
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Bare root arrives dormant

Expect new growth in about 6 weeks after planting. Until then it can look lifeless, so you won’t be able to tell within 24 hours of arrival whether it will grow.

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About the Product

Bumbleblue is a small salvia with a lot of flowers, covering its compact mound with violet-blue spikes in early summer. Pollinators, especially bumblebees, visit constantly while it is in bloom.

At 12 to 16 inches tall it is sized for the front of the border, edging a path or growing in a container. The healthy, crinkled, aromatic leaves look good all season, and deer and rabbits tend to leave them alone.

What it looks like

Short, dense flower spikes 3 to 5 inches long crowded with small two-lipped florets in violet-blue, in purplish calyxes. Spikes are numerous and evenly spread across the top of the plant. Leaves are lance-shaped, 1.5 to 2.5 inches long, deep green, aromatic and crinkled. The plant is a compact, upright clump 12 to 16 inches tall and 14 to 20 inches wide. At peak it is a dense little mound of violet-blue 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

  • Botanical name: Salvia nemorosa
  • Flower color: Violet-blue
  • Foliage: Deep green
  • Growth habit: Upright clump
  • Mature size: 12–16 in tall × 14–20 in wide
  • USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
  • Light: full sun
  • Bloom start: Early-June
  • Peak bloom: Mid-June
  • Bloom pattern: Repeat Blooming
  • Deer resistance: Resistant
  • 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.

View Product Details
Mature height
16.0 in
Mature spread
20.0 in
Bloom
Early-June – peak Mid-June
Fragrance
Mild
Deer
Resistant

Lavender companion · grow guide

How to grow Bumbleblue

Perennial Salvia / Russian Sage · Salvia nemorosa

Give full sun and well-drained soil. Perennial salvias (S. nemorosa, S. × sylvestris) rebloom when cut back; Russian sage (S. yangii) is a woody, late-waking subshrub pruned only in spring.

Check my zone & planting dates
Bumbleblue
  • Full sunLight
  • Low waterFast drainage
  • pH 6.0–8.0Soil
  • Zones 3a–8bHardiness
  • 16″ tall20″ wide
  • ResistantDeer · rabbits resistant
  • Not known toxicPets
Huckleberry, the farm dog

Huckleberry saysTell me where you grow and I’ll check if Bumbleblue will thrive there.

Hardy in zones 3a–8b

Spring is best; early fall works if 6 weeks remain before freeze.

Dormant bare-root perennial salvia as it arrives, laid on burlap

When it arrives

Your bare-root plant

Bare-root salvia is a woody crown with fibrous roots and short stem stubs (Russian sage has longer, gray, woody stems). Soak roots 20–30 minutes, plant the crown at soil level, water once, then let it dry slightly between waterings.

Expect new growth in about 6 weeks after planting. Bare root ships March–May while dormant, with little or no top growth, and it can look lifeless until then. That’s normal. Salvia nemorosa types show basal leaves in early spring. Russian sage is late: woody stems look dead until mid- to late spring, when small gray-green buds break. Wait before cutting or removing it.

You won’t be able to tell within 24 hours of arrival whether a dormant plant will grow.

When to plant

Spring is best; early fall works if 6 weeks remain before freeze.

How deep

Set the crown level with the soil, never buried.

Spacing

Perennial salvias 18–24"; Russian sage about 3 ft.

Soil

Sandy, gravelly or loamy · pH 6.0–8.0

Fix-it tip: In heavy clay, raise the bed or add grit. Skip rich compost; lean soil gives sturdier stems. Wet winter soil is the main killer.

Sun

Full sun (tolerates light shade, with fewer flowers).

6+ hours of sun keeps plants compact. Russian sage especially flops in shade.

Dormant
New growth

Don’t give up on it

Is it alive? What spring looks like

Salvia nemorosa types show basal leaves in early spring. Russian sage is late: woody stems look dead until mid- to late spring, when small gray-green buds break. Wait before cutting or removing it.

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