Salvia nemorosa is a hardy herbaceous perennial plant native to a wide area of central Europe and Western Asia.

It is an attractive plant that is easy to grow and propagate, with the result that it has been passed around by gardeners for many years. Its wide distribution, long history, and the ease with which it hybridizes have resulted in many cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

s and hybrids—along with problems in clearly identifying the hybrids and their relationship with S. nemorosa. It was named and described by Carl Linnaeus in 1762, with "nemorosa" ("of woods") referring to its typical habitat in groves and woods.

In northern Britain, Salvia nemorosa and Salvia pratensis are both in danger of disappearing due depredation from slug

Slug

Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...

s.

Description

There are numerous cultivars widely grown in horticulture. Many of them are hardy to –18 °C., with flowers ranging in color from violet, to violet-blue, rosy pink, and even white. All are perennial, with numerous leafy stems growing from the base at the beginning of summer. The many inflorescences have closely spaced whorls of small flowers with brightly colored calyces. The plant prefers full sun, good drainage, and moderate weekly watering.