Salvia darcyi
Common name(s): Galeana red sage, Darcy's sage
Description: perennial; native to a small area in the Sierra Madre Oriental of Nuevo León, Mexico. Vigorous, branched growth and somewhat sticky, bright green foliage with large red flower spikes from summer into autumn. Spreads slowly by stolons into a large clump. Completely winter deciduous in cold winter climates.
Height: to 4 ft. Spread: to 6 ft.
Position: full sun and lean, well-draining soil
Uses: ornamental, to attract pollinators
Winter Hardiness: to 10 F and below
Distribution: Mexico (Nuevo León) in desert and dry shrubland
Care: prune to 6 inches above the ground in spring (after all danger of last frost) to rejuvenate foliage. Adding a 1-2 inch layer of gravel around the base increases survivability and prevents crown rot. Cutting back spent blooms in summer will encourage more blooming but is not necessary. No fertilizer.
Notes: Randy Baldwin of San Marcos Growers has an excellent account of the history of S. darcyi in cultivation on his website (quoted below)
"This plant was originally discovered by Carl Schoenfeld and John Fairey of Yucca Do Nursery near Galeana, Mexico, in 1988 and in 1991 they guided a British expedition that included British botanist James Compton to a site where it was found growing along a rocky limestone ravine at 9,000 feet in the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range. Though originally called Salvia oresbia, Compton officially described it in a 1994 issue of the journal of Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, naming it after Canadian born botanist William G. D'Arcy, who accompanied him on the collection trip and it is also commonly called Darcy's sage." (retrieved 2024)
