Salvia ‘Ultra Violet’ Delights the Eye and the Pollinators

Salvia ‘Ultra Violet’PP 21,411  is an exciting hybrid of two, southwestern native Salvia species. It has a fine-textured, floriferous habit and unusually iridescent purple flower color. Ultra Violet is both more compact and hardier than most Salvia greggii types. It is the only purple one dependably hardy in zone 5, having had its origin in the northern Colorado garden of horticulturist Lauren Springer.

Because of its tidy growth habit, rooting ease and quick maturation to bloom stage, Ultra Violet makes a great commercial greenhouse perennial.

Outdoors, this small shrubby perennial makes a wonderful flowering xeriscape plant and attracts great numbers of diverse pollinators while resisting browse by deer and rabbits. It establishes easily in well-drained soils with ample sunlight, really showing its stuff the second year.

Better Homes and Gardens magazine lists it as a top perennial for dry sites.  

Height: 18-24”
Width: 18-24”
Blooms: Summer, fall
Sun: Full sun, partial sun
Soil Moisture: Dry, medium
Hardiness: USDA Zone 5b (-15°F or -26°C)
Culture: Well drained soils, dry sites
Uses: Borders, containers, mass landscape planting

Thanks to Lauren Springer, author and horticulturist, for this piece! See the plant profile here.