Today’s new plant, a yellow leaved form of the pineapple sage, combines a wide range of attractions.
* The foliage is bright yellow, with a green tint, but rarely seems to fade to completely green
* The foliage is intensely pineapple scented
* Scarlet flowers appear late in the season
* It’s vigorous and fairly upright, though not straggly
* It’s ideal in large containers
* For fiery summer tropical-style displays it’s superb
* It roots easily from cuttings
* It’s happy in most reasonable soils in sun or partial shade
Salvia elegans ‘Golden Delicious’ arose in a nursery in Illinois in 2001 as a sport of the familiar green-leaved ‘Scarlet Pineapple’. It’s now available in Britain for the first time and will make a dramatic partner for cannas, dahlias, and other tropical style summer plants in sunny borders or large containers. With its intensely aromatic foliage it’s ideal in a large tub on the patio or deck where it’s easy to reach out, rub a leaf or two and enjoy the fragrance.
Flowering is late, although it’s the foliage and fragrance which are important here, but it’s so easy to root that summer cuttings can be grown on in the conservatory where modest-sized plants will flower well into the winter. The only potential problem with ‘Golden Delicious’ is that the stems can be brittle, so site it out of the wind.
Expect to find this colourful newcomer in good garden centres later in the season, or to be sure of getting hold of it you can order Salvia elegans ‘Golden Delicious' from Barnsdale Plants.