I'm guessing that it's salvia Mexicana "Tula", mine has grown to over 8ft this year but has been the first of the mexicanas to bloom. It could also be s. mex. limelight, not an expert so it's hard to tell. Helena

I totally agree with Helena

What a pretty name Tula is! I bet that sounds goofy to anyone besides a gardener. Thanks Helena and Rich.

Pam

What are the differences between 'Tula' and 'Limelight'? My plant looks identical to the one in the pic, although it's just getting its bloom stems this year. Last year, the blooms looked just like that, though. Mine is supposedly a 'Limelight'.

Brenda

`Tula' is an accession of Yucca-Do, collected in southern Tamaulipas near the city of Tula, which is around 30 miles SSE of Cerro Peña Nevada and SW of the El Cielo Biosphere. It gets 6-8 feet tall for me in North Carolina.

Limelight is similar, but about 2/3 as tall. This one came from California. Ginny Hunt might know more. Betsy Clebsch told me that she saw many when she got a tour with Yucca-Do.

Mexicanas with chartreuse calyxes and cobalt purple flowers are common, but not as common as those with black calyxes and midnight purple flowers. These also come in different sizes. Average height ones are `La Placita' and `Puerto de la Zorra'. A giant one is `Ocampo', from near the El Cielo Biosphere. `Lollie Jackson' was introduced by Yucca-Do like the previous one and has denser spikes.

A really giant one came from Oaxaca. I had it briefly from Saso's Herb Garden, now closed and formerly of Saratoga, California. I think this was an example of the S. mexicana f. major that Epling proposed in his magnum opus on Salvias.