Plant Profile: Salvia "Anthony Parker"

Latin name: Salvia ("SAL-vee-ah")
Common name: "Anthony Parker" Sage
Originally from: A cross by Frances Parker of Beaufort, South Carolina
Blooms: Covered in spikes of deep blue-purple flowers much of the year
Light: Full sun to part shade..
Water: Winter rain is enough, but in some areas a little irrigation might help.
Height x width: 4' x 4'
Zones: 9a-10b
Where to find in P. Garden: One in the brights bed.

This Salvia is a cross between two species we know and love: the incredibly tough, xeric Mexican sage, Salvia leucantha (throw a rock at PG and you'll hit one) and the very much less drought tolerant Salvia elegans (Pineapple Sage) with the lovely red flowers and incredible pineapple scented leaves. We had a S. elegans back in the day, and it was epic, but required more water than we were willing to give.

Would you expect a cross between those two Salvias to create a dark, midnight purple flowered plant that's possibly even more tough than Salvia leucantha? I would not, but "Anthony Parker" (or "Tony" as I like to call him) is flowering away like a fool right now in January, and I haven't shown him a drop of water in years. Take that, pineapple sage!

This cross was discovered in the garden of designer Frances Parker of Beaufort, South Carolina and was named after her grandson in 1994. No guarantees on the parentage then - a case for 23andMe?