Salvia verticillata Endless Love

Salvia verticillata 'Endless Love' is a recent variety of whorled sage that stands out for the abundance and duration of its flowering, as well as for its vigour. This beautiful variety blooms continuously from June until the end of September. Its long dense spikes of small dark violet flowers dominate in borders and delight pollinators. This robust perennial plant will thrive in any good garden soil, in full sun or partial shade.

Salvia verticillata is an herbaceous perennial, non-woody plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family, like all salvias. It is native to Western Europe and the Near East, as well as the plains of Central Asia. It is a perfectly cold-resistant sage, capable of enduring heat and relative drought. It is characterised by flowers arranged in whorls along the floral stems. The lifespan of whorled sage rarely exceeds 5 or 6 years in our gardens.

The 'Endless Love' cultivar was introduced to the market in 2016. This variety distinguishes itself from the wild species through its spectacular and long-lasting flowering. The plant has a bushy habit and will reach a height of 60 to 70cm (24 to 28in) with a spread of 40 to 50cm (16 to 20in) within 2 or 3 years. The flowering takes place from June to September, in the form of branched inflorescences bearing an abundance of dark mauve flowers enclosed in dark violet calyces. The tips of the floral stems are tinged with purplish-violet. The deciduous foliage is composed of slightly greyish-green, very hairy, triangular-shaped leaves. They measure 3 to 15cm (1 to 6in) in length and have a dentate, serrated edge. The foliage appears in spring, first forming a beautiful rosette from which the inflorescences emerge throughout summer.

Easy to grow and not very demanding in terms of soil, 'Endless Love' sage enjoys bright and sunny exposures but dislikes waterlogged soils in winter. Plant it in a meadow garden, mixed borders, or in a grass garden, with which it forms beautiful associations. It also pairs well with shrubby salvias, echinaceas, asters, Agastache 'Kudos Mandarin', tall sedums, or dahlias. It can be easily grown in containers and pots throughout summer. Nemesias, diascias, and lobelias also make great companions for whorled sage in flower pots.