Sunday, November 23, 2014

It is Elegans

My prior post was a sad song about Central America, a link to a sad land.  Today, with the thankfulness season approaching, I promise more uplifting posts.  I will write instead about an interesting plant native to Guatemala.

I saw this plant in a fall herb garden at the National Arboretum one year and was intrigued since it was so hearty in late fall and still full of blooms.  I bought this plant last year for my herb garden as its common name is pineapple sage (Salvia elegans).  As a Master Gardener I did my research before planting...NOT.  I buy stuff and stick it where I need to put a plant and then hope it makes it without a lot of mollycoddling.  Fortunately it was in a place where it gets morning sun and afternoon shade, which is the perfect niche.  All of my soils are relatively rich and thus it grew like a house on fire.  I did my research later, and discovered this baby can get to be FIVE FEET high.  There goes a third of my small herb garden.


Does it smell or taste of pineapple you may ask?   I will copy text from one garden that sells it "Did I mention that it really does smell like pineapple? You may be skeptical about the fragrance. After all, the orange and chocolate mints may smell like their namesakes, but only if you concentrate really hard and use your imagination. Pineapple sage, on the other hand, really smells pineapple-y, and it's also an attractive plant in its own right."  No, I did not find a strong pineapple smell, but my old olfactory glands are not what they used to be.  The leaves are edible, but not striking in pungency like mint or sage.  The flowers can be used in fall salads and are a nice colorful addition.  The flowers are also a favorite of hummingbirds as the days grow short.  I think they look a little like hands giving directions ;-).


This plant, like a chrysanthemum, uses a photoreceptor protein and blooms as the day gets shorter.  So it is a nice accent to late fall gardens when other bloomers are going to sleep or forming seeds.  Pineapple sage forms blossoms as the day grows shorter and the nights longer which starts on June 21.  Cotton and rice are also short day plants.  Next year I am going to try more carefully to see if I can get the hummingbird at this plant.  I do not get many hummingbirds to my yard.  The plant freezes back to the ground after the first freeze, but may survive a harder winter if I mulch it carefully.  (It is not expensive to replant each year.)


I think the "elegans" name comes from the shape of the flowers - like ballerinas hands arching.   It is dainty, discriminating, and elegant.

16 comments:

  1. Fascinating. I don't know much about plants but ths one sure is attractive.

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  2. A beautiful plant and comprehensive essay. Nicely done, T




    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^=

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  3. I read about this herb before and found it to be quite intriguing. I planted some in Florida. I will soon how it faired on total neglect. My prediction is that everything I planted has been eaten by rabbits.

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  4. I grew one several summers ago and it did well in our shady yard. It did not survive the winter but it is definitely worth growing as an annual.

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  5. My housekeeper is from Guatemala and there was a plant very similar to this one you have shown growing around my house. However it did not have any blooms or color of red. She asked if she could take some of it because it was a spice she loved to cook with from her native land. I had to decline because my son had just sprayed weed killer around the house. I have been very curious since and wish I could have tasted it. Wish I knew more about identifying plants. I do know what lambs quarter is and love it better than spinach. Plus we have patches of chives everywhere.

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  6. It's an herb? Looks very dramatic, certainly prettier than the mint, parsley and rosemary I grow out by the shed.

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  7. I'll have to get one. The garden club just did a program on slavias. there are so many different varieties. I have a few but want to add more.

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  8. How can you find f-stops hard when you can bandy about terms like "photoreceptor protein"? :)

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  9. in our desert home, we have good luck with a desert sage which kind of looks like yours. It's hearty enough to bear the occasional freezes and the hummers love it too.

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  10. I really like this. What does it taste like if you cook with it.

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  11. Being a black thumb, i salute your beautiful autumn flowers!

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  12. I'll bet I could grow it, so I'll be on the lookout for it.
    Good tip.Thanks.

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  13. It is beautiful! I can see why the hummingbirds like it. It is so bright and smells like pineapple. Wow!

    I had to laugh at your "master gardener" and research comment. That is just like me. I like something and stick it in the ground, cross my fingers, and hope it thrives. I don't do a whole lot of research. ;)

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  14. we are supposed to get snow tomorrow...beautiful plant...i hope you can get it to last...the hummingbirds play around my back porch..i love to go sit and watch them....

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  15. Oh, everything is dead and brown or gray in my yard. But now covered with white.

    I enjoyed my first experience with the word mollycoddle.

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