Salvia patens, called Gentian sage, is native to a wide area of central Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. It is a herbaceous perennial.

Description

Salvia patens is tuberous, and easily lifted for overwintering in a greenhouse. The more common varieties reach 0.3 - 0.6 m (1-2 feet) tall and wide, and are covered with hastate

Leaf shape

In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...

 shaped mistletoe-green leaves. Inflorescences reach 0.15 - 0.3 m (6-12 inches) or longer, rising well above the leaves. 1 inch flowers are spaced along the inflorescence, with a 1.3cm (0.5 inch) green calyx that adds to the attractiveness of the flowers.

Cultivation

Salvia patens was introduced to horticulture in 1838 and is now grown widely. It is frequently treated as an annual due to its sensitivity to hard frost, with bedding plants often put out in spring. Varieties have been developed with colors ranging from white to lilac to various shades of blue. Seeds from Holland have been available since the 1990s for rich colored and large flowered varieties.

William Robinson

William Robinson (gardener)

William Robinson was an Irish practical gardener and journalist whose ideas about wild gardening spurred the movement that evolved into the English cottage garden, a parallel to the search for honest simplicity and vernacular style of the British Arts and Crafts movement...

 praised it in the 1933 edition of The English Flower Garden as one of the best plants in cultivation. A collecting trip to Mexico in 1991 led by James Compton discovered a 1.8 m (6 foot) tall variety with large deep blue flowers that is available as 'Guanajuato'.