Salvia 'Purple Knockout'

Deep purple-maroon foliage all season with blue spring flowers. a foliage native that delivers design impact without any extra effort.

'Purple Knockout' is a selection of native lyre-leaf sage chosen specifically for its striking deep purple-maroon foliage that provides color from the moment it emerges in spring. The rosette leaves are deeply lobed (lyre-shaped) and heavily pigmented, making this a foliage plant first and a flowering plant second, though the light blue-lavender flower spikes that rise above the rosette in spring and again after cutting add their own charm. The combination of dark maroon foliage and light blue flowers is one of the more sophisticated native plant color combinations available in a compact perennial. This plant is nearly effortless once established: semi-evergreen, spreading by self-seeding rather than aggressive rhizomes, and thoroughly ignored by deer. It works in containers, at border edges, as a mass groundcover under trees, or planted along path edges where the dark foliage creates a defined edge. Full sun intensifies the purple color; part shade produces larger leaves with a slightly less intense pigmentation. Either way, it's one of the most distinctive foliage natives we carry.