Salvia, Blue Anise Sage, Brazilian Sage 'Black and Bloom'

I love this plant!! I tried Salvia 'Black & Bloom' for the first time this year in the hopes the hummers would like it. Boy do they ever....Read More This has become their favorite plant in my yard, visiting it frequently all day long. I planted it in a bed right outside our bedroom window which allows us to peak out and watch them feed without disturbing them.

Late summer is this salvia's favorite time and as of this review, mid-September, it has gotten huge with tons of blooms and buds everywhere. I did learn early on that the stems, if left alone, can tend to break off at the main stem so I've been adding bamboo stakes and tying the stems with the stretchy green plastic plant tie that comes on a roll. It takes a little time, but it's worth it as this plant has brought me so much joy.

Salvia 'Black & Bloom' is an annual in my area, zone 5a, so I will be definitely be ordering more next year. I also plan to try saving it somehow, maybe with cuttings.

Beautiful flowers, and the hummingbirds liked them (but not as much as they liked my coral bells).

But this plant is very...Read More brittle! I bought it and within about 1 minute, before getting it into the car to go home, my arm had knocked off the one blooming spire. Well, I thought it would recover. And it did. It made several blooming spires -- before I looked at it one morning, and it had toppled over, broken off at the soil line. Maybe a bird tried landing on it. Maybe I had brushed up against it earlier and hadn't seen the problem.

I've never known another plant to be so easily broken. When it broke at the soil line, I gave up on it. It was in a very large (~ 20" diameter) pot, with another smaller plant. I put another potted plant on the soil in place of the Black and Bloom.

The breeders need to work on this brittleness issue. Other than that, it was a beautiful plant while it lasted.