Image – Flickr/peganum
Is it raining a little in your area? Next, you will need to choose plants that are drought resistant, and one of them is the Salvia chamaedryoides, known as Mexican blue sage. It is a species that does not grow much more than fifty centimeters, and since it is also evergreen, it is ideal to be used, for example, as a low hedge, as well as of course as a container plant.
Its leaves are much smaller than those of other salvias, since you live in a place where it rains less. Therefore, having smaller foliage means it doesn’t need as much water.
What is the origin of Salvia chamaedryoides?
Image – Wikimedia/Stan Shebs
It is a perennial plant that grows wild in Mexico. To be more exact, lives in the Sierra Madre Oriental, in the arid and semi-arid parts of the region, and at very high altitude above sea level, since it will be found between 2100 and 2800 meters. This is very interesting, because when a plant grows at such high altitudes, it must be able to withstand not only cold, but also sub-zero temperatures.
And in the case of our protagonist, this is undoubtedly the case, since it can withstand frosts down to -14ºC. Therefore, it is not only interesting to grow it outdoors all year round, but it is also the most recommended, since it could have problems inside the house due to the temperatures remaining more or less. less stable at any time.
How is it?
The Salvia chamaedryoides is a plant that can measure at most 60 centimeters in height roughly the same width. The leaves are small, about a centimeter long and grayish green. Its flowers are blue-violet, measure about 2 centimeters and grow mainly in summer and autumn, although they can also do so in spring.
It looks a bit like Teucrium; in fact, they look so similar that they belong to the botanical family: Lamiaceae. But its origin is different: our protagonist is only native to Mexico, but Teucriums grow in many parts of the world, including America and Europe.
What are the care Salvia chamaedryoides?
Image – Wikimedia/David J. Stang
Mexican blue sage is a plant suitable for beginners, because as we said, it does not require a lot of water. But in any case, it is important that we talk about them, how we can keep them healthy so that they produce their beautiful flowers.
Location
It is a type of sage that we will put it outside and in full sun. So you can grow without any problem; that is, without its stems having to grow excessively and weaken in an attempt to catch more light, which would happen if it were placed in the shade or indoors.
It can be in a pot or in the ground, but yes the soil must be loose and light. Let us remember that its natural habitat is the deserts, where the ground is sandy; it cannot therefore be planted in very compact soil otherwise it will die.
If it is going to be in a pot, we will put a mixture of peat with perlite, or a quality universal substrate like Flower, for example, which you can buy here.
Irrigation
The watering of Salvia chamaedryoides it must be pretty rare. As it is a plant that resists drought but not excess water, it is important to water it almost as if it were a cactus. If the cacti are watered only when the soil is dry, with our protagonist we will have to do more or less the same, with the difference that we must prevent it from drying out completely.
In other words: if when we insert a wooden stick into the soil, we see that it comes out practically as it came in, that is to say almost clean, then we are watering. But what we can’t do is wait for it to dry out so much that it “peels” from the edges of the pot or cracks.
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You can pay it during the spring and summer months, i.e. when it grows. In addition, it will be a way to make it grow a little faster, and that it has more energy that it can spend to produce more flowers. But yes, it is very important that it is paid for as indicated on the product packaging, because we are not going to improve it by adding more, but rather the opposite: we could end up without a plant.
Use environmentally friendly fertilizers, especially if you have your plant in the ground, such as manure or compost. In this way, the native fauna (insects and others) will not be harmed.
planting time
Image – Wikimedia/Stickpen
The right time to plant Salvia chamaedryoides on the ground or in a larger container it will be when winter is overand not only that, but the risk of frost must be passed too.
hardiness
Resists cold up to -14ºCas well as snowfall.
Have you heard of the Salvia chamaedryoides? What do you think?