Limelight Mexican Sage – Salvia Mexicana ‘Limelight’

A tall, sun-loving, low-water sage with lime green calyxes and deep blue-violet flowers in the late summer and autumn

Limelight Mexican sage in Bloom in early autumn

Native to Central Mexico, the plant is found at elevations as high as 8,000 feet in the southern tropical areas. Further to the north in the sub-tropical regions, it can be found in semi-arid areas at the edge of forests anywhere from 800 feet and higher.

Limelight will grow to be 7-9 feet tall and equally wide

A fast grower, given plenty of sun, it can go from a mere 6 inches in early spring to over 7 feet tall and equally wide by late summer. Limelight is a semi-hardy perennial that will keep its leaves throughout the winter in USDA plant hardiness zones 9 and higher. In colder zones like 7 and 8, it will still survive the winter, but will drop most or all of its leaves. Giving it protection from wind and snow will help it recover more quickly in the spring.

If you’re in regions 6 and below, you can grow Salvia Mexicana as an annual and replace it with fresh plants in spring (it propagates very easily).

Sun & Water

As a sub-tropical that thrives in high country and arid regions, it does best in full sun with well-drained soil. While young the plant needs regular water, but once established, needs it only occasionally. Here in inland San Diego County, I water it once a week in the dry season (summer and early autumn), and not at all in the winter and spring when it’s cooler and wetter.

Tall violet purple flowers borne on a lime green stalk

The flower stalks are about 12 inches tall

Soil & Fertilizer

As for soil and fertilizer, none of the Salvia Mexicanas, including Limelight, are picky; any generally balanced, well-drained soil is fine. In fact, if the soil is too rich, it will stay shrubby and flower less. I find a 1”-2” blanket of composted mulch applied in winter is more than enough to get them through the whole year.

Pruning

Like all salvias, Limelight benefits from pruning. Once the plant is done blooming for the year, the flower calyxes will die back to the leaf branch. I find that trimming the plant three to four leaf branches below the calyx (around 12”-16” below) keeps the plant from becoming leggy and gives it a good start in spring.

Propagation

Limelight propagates very easily. Simply take a few cuttings and place them in water in a sunny area in your house. In 6 – 8 weeks when they have good root growth, transplant them into pots. By the time spring rolls around you’ll have fresh plants ready to go.

Pollinators and Pests

This plant is a pollinator magnet. In full bloom, butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds will flock to it in such volumes that the plant almost seems to hum.

Pollinators love Limelight’s flowers

As for pests, in normal, arid conditions like we have in the southwest, very few pests bother with it. But if you’re in a wetter, more humid climate (or you’re growing them in a greenhouse) you may have trouble with whiteflies and aphids. As these sages are adapted to dry conditions and secrete an oil that naturally repels these insects, drip watering rather than sprinkling keeps the leaves dry and lets the plant use its natural defenses to limit the bugs. If pests do get out of control, a little soap spray is usually more than enough to keep them in check.

Summary

Limelight Mexican Sage is a fast-growing perennial that will add a lot of color to your late summer and autumn gardens. It likes full sun, doesn’t need much water, and pollinators love the flowers. It can get quite tall making it a great, low maintenance plant for the back of garden beds or at the edge of tree lines.