Anise-scented sage 'Black and Blue'

• Soil: humus rich, fertile, light, well-drained soil.
• Feeding: side dress with compost or manure. In spring fertilize with a complete organic fertilizer. However these are both optional – plant will grow regardless.
• Pruning Methods: dead head spent flowers to keep it flowering into fall.
• Well-drained soil is necessary, especially during a wet winter season. Does not like to be overwatered.
  Tolerates drought once it gets established. Tolerates heat and humidity. Grown as an annual outside of Zones 7 to 10. Can be wintered indoors in a bright and cool room elsewhere.

If it per chance stops blooming before summer’s end, cut it back by 1/3 to 1/2 it will take off flowering anew. The persistence of its flowering is one of its great assets, no matter how late it begins.

Plant in a location that enjoys full sun and remember to apply water fairly sparingly. Keep in mind when planting that Black and Blue is thought of as tender, so remember to wait until your soil is warm and the night time temperature is well above freezing before moving outside. Black and Blue needs a loamy soil with a ph of 6.0 to 7.5 (weakly acidic soil to weakly alkaline soil).

• Divide in spring or fall
• Softwood cuttings in spring
• Semi ripe cuttings in late summer
  Cuttings are fairly easy to root. Take fast-growing tip cutting in spring or semi-hard tip cuttings in summer or fall. Results are better with bottom heat.

Spreading rhizomitously, over time the clump can spread to three feet wide. Large clumps can be divided in spring before new leaves begin to appear, or in the fall after the blooms have faded. Starts can be made from softwood cuttings in spring (in warmer zones), or ripening summer cuttings, or from terminal cuttings from any month it is growing.

By our calculations, you should look at sowing Black and Blue about 84 days before your last frost date.

Give plenty of water when transplanting. In time will become drought tolerant.

Ensure that temperatures are mild and all chance of frost has passed before planting out, as Black and Blue is a tender plant.

Blue Anise Sage, Brazillian Blue Sage, Sapphire Sage, Anise Scented Sage