Pink Profusion is a shorter salvia that keeps coming back into bloom: shear off the spent flowers and it will flower again several times through summer. Its dark pink blooms sit in even darker pink calyxes for a rich look.
The plant forms a dense, perfectly rounded mound about 15 inches tall, so it tucks easily into the front of a border and makes a tidy edger when planted in a row. Pollinators love it, and deer and rabbits avoid it.
What it looks like
Many slender, upright flower spikes 3 to 5 inches long lined with small two-lipped florets in dark pink, held in deeper magenta-pink calyxes. The spikes are densely packed and evenly cover the top of the plant. Leaves are lance-shaped, 1.5 to 2.5 inches long, green, aromatic and crinkled. The plant is a dense, rounded dome 14 to 16 inches tall and 16 to 20 inches wide. At peak it looks like a round pink cushion of spires.
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; each time the spikes fade, shear the plant back by about a third and it will bloom again, often several times through summer.
At a glance
-
Botanical name: Salvia nemorosa
-
Flower color: Dark pink with deeper pink calyxes
-
Foliage: Green
-
Growth habit: Dense, rounded dome
-
Mature size: 14–16 in tall × 16–20 in wide
-
USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
-
Light: full sun
-
Bloom start: Late-May
-
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.