Whorled sage 'Purple Rain'
Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain' ·
Arching stems carry whorls of smoky purple flowers and dusky calyces that keep their colour long after the petals drop, over soft, felted leaves.
- Size
- 20 in tall, 20 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to late August
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around whorled sage 'Purple Rain'
The planner designed this bed around whorled sage 'Purple Rain' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why whorled sage 'Purple Rain' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Whorled sage 'Purple Rain' × 3, purple
- 2 Winter heath × 4, pink
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 11, yellow
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 8, tan
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 8 Hyacinth 'Delft Blue' × 12, blue
Why this plant
- Nothing here is unique to it. Its leaf, flower shape and colour are all on the plan already. Its case rests on where it stands and when it performs.
Why here
- In the middle. At 20 in it is the step between winter heath (10 in) in front and little bluestem 'The Blues' (3 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- A step in the back row. Next to ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' (2½ ft) and little bluestem 'The Blues' (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 10 weeks. From late June to late August.
- Fills a gap. For three of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 30 of the 30 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The scheme leans cool (purple, pink and blue) and uses yellow for warmth, with white and tan to calm things between them. Low plants run along 93% of the front edge: silver sage, mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' and winter heath. The plan meets all 17 of the design principles it was checked against, and is Excellent in four categories.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where whorled sage 'Purple Rain' goes in a border
At 20 in it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Looser and smokier than the upright meadow sages, with a relaxed habit that suits informal planting. The calyces give colour for three months.
- A long season of soft purple
- Naturalistic planting
- The front to middle of a sunny bed
What to plant with whorled sage 'Purple Rain'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for 10 weeks; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Yarrow 'Moonshine': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for eight weeks.
- Cranesbill 'Rozanne': in flower together for 10 weeks, from late June; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
Questions about whorled sage 'Purple Rain'
Does whorled sage 'Purple Rain' need sun or shade?
Whorled sage 'Purple Rain' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does whorled sage 'Purple Rain' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does whorled sage 'Purple Rain' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to late August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Late June to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late June to late August |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to mid August |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to mid August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should whorled sage 'Purple Rain' be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 20 in (50 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 20 in (50 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many whorled sage 'Purple Rain' plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is there a native plant like whorled sage 'Purple Rain'?
Whorled sage 'Purple Rain' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Coneflower 'Kim's Knee High': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; pink, not purple.
- Tickseed 'Sunray': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; yellow, not purple.
- Stokes' aster: the same job in a bed, the same size, the same flowering time and the same colour; belongs at the front, not in the middle.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after whorled sage 'Purple Rain'?
Whorled sage 'Purple Rain' is over by late August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': from mid August to mid October, 24 in tall.
- Autumn moor grass: from mid August to early October, 16 in tall.
What does whorled sage 'Purple Rain' look like in winter?
Whorled sage 'Purple Rain' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Salvia
- Anise sage 'Black and Blue' Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'
- Autumn sage Salvia greggii
- Blue sage Salvia azurea
- Bog sage Salvia uliginosa
- Clary sage Salvia sclarea
- Culinary sage Salvia officinalis
- Meadow sage Salvia nemorosa
- Meadow sage 'Caradonna' Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'
- Mexican bush sage Salvia leucantha
- Rosemary Salvia rosmarinus
- Russian sage Salvia yangii (formerly Perovskia)
- Russian sage 'Little Spire' Salvia yangii 'Little Spire'
- Salvia 'Hot Lips' Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips'
- Salvia 'May Night' Salvia nemorosa 'Mainacht'
- Silver sage Salvia argentea
- Wood sage 'Blue Hill' Salvia x sylvestris 'Blauhügel'
- Wood sage 'East Friesland' Salvia nemorosa 'Ostfriesland'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 20 in (50 cm) tall, 20 in (50 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late June to late August; upright spires; purple
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; grey-green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.