Salvia, Mealy Blue (Henry Duelberg)

Salvia farinacea 'Henry Duelberg'

The Henry Duelberg Salvia is a delightful variety of mealy cup or blue sage and proudly stands as a perennial native plant of South and Central Texas. It's recognized as a Texas Superstar® for its remarkable resilience to heat, drought, and humidity, making it a beloved choice for Texas native plant gardens. This charming plant thrives best when nestled in the back of flower beds, reaching a height and width of three feet. If you give it a little trim in mid-summer, you’ll see it flourish with even more flowers in the fall. It’s a tough plant, hardy up to Zone 7.

This salvia loves well-drained soil and basking in full sunlight, becoming wonderfully drought-tolerant once it’s established. Just remember to give it regular watering until it's settled in, and during the hot summer days, it would appreciate a drink once a week, especially if rainfall is less than an inch. While it’s low maintenance, taking a moment to deadhead spent blooms can encourage even more flowers to bloom. If your soil is already rich, you can choose whether or not to use a general fertilizer in spring and summer to boost flower production. Keeping around two inches of mulch will also do wonders. After the first frost, cut it back right to the ground and add some mulch for winter protection. The beautiful part is that once established, this plant will reseed itself, and you can easily transplant the seedlings to other spots in your garden.

The Henry Duelberg Salvia has an interesting discovery story too. Texas horticulturist Greg Grant stumbled upon it in a Central Texas cemetery dedicated to Henry Duelberg. He also found and named the lovely white-flowered Augusta Duelberg salvia nearby on Augusta Duelberg's gravesite. Together, these two salvias create a stunning pairing, whether grown side by side or mixed within your garden.