Salvia oxyphora

Add another "Oxy" to the list of great consumer products...OxiClean™, Oxy® Skin Care, Oxycodone and, of course, the big O, Oxygen...now, Salvia oxyphora. We've trialed Salvia oxyphora since 2010 and are impressed with its garden performance. The glossy, black-green, heavily corrugated leaves clothe the 3' tall stalks topped, starting in late June and continuing through frost (NC), with terminal clusters of Energizer Bunny®-like, hairy pink tubes, each with a large lip designed for smooching hummingbirds. Salvia oxyphora is one of our only Bolivian natives, hailing from the foothills and disturbed lower slopes to 7,200' in the Bolivian Andes into the edge of Peru. If you've never experienced a disturbed lower slope in situ, this may be the closest you'll ever get. In the wild, the plants can exceed 4' tall but with our cold winters, 3' has been our best effort so far.