It may be Blue Queen which is very common

Penny

Thanks Penny.

I'm thinking of dividing it to create a larger grouping than just one plant would make.

Does anyone know if this one spreads at all and needs dividing a few years from now, or can I just divide it now, into possibly 3 divisions, and plant them together, spacing them appropriately, without having to divide them again in just a few years? (Can I add another clause to that sentence to make it longer?? :-)

Jen

Salvia superba (nemerosa, pratensis, sylvestris, haematodes, whatever) is tap-rooted and needs to be around 6 inches or larger around the base of the roots to be divided well. They will be set back for a while, since the root systems will have been severely disturbed. If it wilts a lot, you will probably have to cut off a few leaves.

Oh great, sounds like I have another best-guess-labeled garden "experiment". The tag says "Salvia superba" but doesn't say how big it will get. Sunset says the true S. superba can spread 2-3 feet and can sprawl at 5-6 feet. There's no way this plant will fit in the spot I bought it for, and I thought S. superba was a smaller plant. Well, now I know what I'm going to plant that has blue/purple spikes and is low-growing in front of the Westerland rose! But I need to find something else to plant in the spot intended for S. superba.

Thanks Richard for the info about the root and the alternate names.

Jen

This complex of sages ranges from the large with pratensis and haematoedes to compact with sterile hybrids like May Night and East Friesland. The main confusion is between the nemerosa and superba names. Besides taxonomic problems, breeding records were either not kept or poorly transmitted.