PlantFiles: Blue Anise Sage, Brazilian Sage
Salvia guaranitica

Believe it or not we've had this guy survive here in Zone 6b. It has come back the last few years I suppose due to a mild winter. Also had some babies.

This is the most invasive plant I've ever encountered. It's up there with mint. It spreads by underground runners and has taken over a huge bed and crowded out every other plant in that bed. I am not struggling to prevent it from jumping to the next bed. The runners are going under a stone path and inching into the rose bed. I've pulled up tons of it, but if you leave a bit of the broken runner in the ground, you get new plants. I really wish I'd never planted this plant!

In the spring I planted 4 four-inch tall plants ('Sapphire') in a dry, sunny area of my garden where I couldn't get much to grow. They rewarded me with amazing growth by summer, reaching almost 5 feet tall. In my garden, they bloom constantly until the first freeze. The flowers are gorgeous, and the scent of the leaves is amazing. And they reseed very nicely as well. They enjoy a good drink once a week unless it's really hot- then an extra watering or two keeps them happy.

One of my favorite activities is watching all the bees and hummingbirds flock around these plants. It's really funny to see the huge bumblebees try to get to the nectar of these narrow flowers. Many bees 'cheat' to get to the nectar; they make a small hole in the calyx of the flower to get to it. I have enough hummingbirds to ensure pollination of them, though!

Great plant for zone8. Long bloom period and gorgeous blue. Very sensitive to winter drainage...it won't be hardy if saturated thru the winter.

I second the comment that it's hardy to at least 7 - I was pleasantly surprised to find it coming back this spring, after a fairly typical winter here in 6b/7a.

This salvia, unlike most other salvias, prefers shade and moisture, but will do OK in full sun with good moisture. It is hardy to at least zone 7. A hummingbird favorite. It multiplies by sending out new runners from parent. If you want a single large specimen, remove these runners. In zone 8 it blooms almost continuously from April till the temp goes below 27F. There is also a sky blue form called 'Argentina Skies', does not multiply fast by runners.

This is a plant that I've been surprised to find came back strongly (foliage, that is--too early to tell about bloom)in the spring. It is a nice plant--has performed relatively well for me in high desert, Zone 7, partial shade conditions.

Five years later, in the spring of 2007, my anise sages continue to thrive. Since we provided more sun for them (cut down several large trees), they seem even happier--healthier spread, better bloom.. They even survived this past winter, the worst one we've had in 30 years. Also, I've successfully propagated a couple of them through cuttings.