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Lamiaceae FAMILY

Salvia mellifera

Salvia mellifera

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Shrub
Growth—

Salvia mellifera is not very cold-hardy, being able to tolerate short periods with temperatures down to between -5 and -8°c so long as the soil is well-drained[1]. Requires a very well-drained light sandy soil in a sunny position[1]. Prefers a rich soil[2]. Soils rich in nitrogen encourage excessive leaf growth at the expense of flowering[3]. Established plants are very drought tolerant[4]. Plants can be killed by excessive winter wet[1]. The plant is very susceptible to atmospheric pollution, especially from sulphur dioxide[5]. This species hybridizes freely with several other Salvia species, including Salvia apiana, Salvia columbariae and Salvia leucophylla[4]. The leaves are aromatic[5]. Plants are believed to live for around 20 - 30 years in the wild[5]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[6, 4].

Propagation

Seed - sow early to mid spring in a greenhouse[1]. Germination usually takes place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in early summer. In areas where the plant is towards the limits of its hardiness, it is best to grow the plants on in a greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out in late spring of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood succeed at almost any time in the growing season[1]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Salvia+mellifera>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  4. [4]A Book of Salvias - Sages for Every Garden — Clebsch B. · Timber Press Inc.; Oregon. · 1997 · ISBN 0-88192-369-9 ↩︎Fairly detailed information on over 100 species of Salvia that are grown as ornamentals.
  5. [5]Fire Effects Information System — http://www.feis-crs.org/feis/ ↩︎An on-line information site with comprehensive information on over 1,100 species of plant. Mainly developed to supply information on the effects of fire on plants and animals, it also contains a wealth of other information on the plants
  6. [6]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons, London. · 1990 · ISBN 0 460 86048 8 ↩︎A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
  7. [7]Flora of California — http://www.calflora.org ↩︎An on-line database of the Californian flora, giving details on plant habitats and photos of the plants.
  8. [8]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  9. [9]Food Plants in the Americas: A Survey of the Domesticated, Cultivated, and Wild Plants Used for Human Food in North, — Kermath B.M.; Bennett B.C.' Pulsipher L.M. · 2014 ↩︎A pre-publication draft of an amazing, on-going work first started in 1985. It contains information on more than 3,900 taxa from the Americas - from Arctic regions to the Tropics
  10. [10]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.