Teresa, I use a salvia in the spring for cuts but it does not rebloom. It holds up pretty well in the vase, probably 5 to 6 days with flower food. I cant remember the name of it right now, but it is a beautiful neon purple blue that looks really lovely with my campanulas. I would like a variety that blooms throughout the season so any suggestions would be appreciated. Kat

In the past, I've used annual salvia farinacea (sp?) Victoria Blue, and I did love the color of it, as well as the fact that it was fairly long-lasting. However, it doesn't always attain a good height, being maybe 12 inches, sometimes a bit higher. Okay for smaller bouquets, but when working with larger, taller blooms the salvia comes up a bit short.

I bought seed for another annual salvia, Gruppenblau, which I think is supposed to be a bit taller, but never sowed them this year!

One good thing about the annual salvias is that there is some rebloom, as well as self-sowing, and some of them even overwinter for me. I've not really tried perennial salvias for cuts. I've only planted one or two and have had trouble getting them to overwinter (which is ironic since the annual ones do, lol).

I've always admired the salvias in the catalogs so I don't know why I haven't tried more. Maybe this winter I'll look more closely and place an order - so any suggestions here are welcome!

:)
Dee

Since first posting this inquiry, I have found a variety called "Oceana". I put several branches in a vase and they have lasted about a week. My plant broker said the problem with using them as a cut is that they bloom like snapdragons do -- opening up from the bottom and continuing up. It is hard to tell if they continue to open once cut with only the few stems I have. I will be ordering this variety, however, and give it a good trial next year. The beautiful blue color is worth it. You can find a picture of it at the link below. It isn't a great picture (my son took it), but will give you an idea of the color.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Last year, I had Blue Bedder, which is not a perennial in my zone, but it was tall and quite prolific. I had not planned on using it for cutting, but because the stems were so tall and prolific, I used it in a number of arrangements. The blooms are a combination of blue and white and remind me of lavender in their flower form.

Teresa