I love things that have more of a purpose than just looking good and this plant has this in bucket loads. I first bumped into this plant during a garden visit to Wollerton Old Hall, drawn by its delicate, rich velvety blooms, I bought one. At the time I had no idea how adeptly bestowed this specimen was, until quite recently listening to a pod cast via Sarah Raven’s Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange.
I discovered a couple of years previously that planting this Salvia underneath roses was meant to be a good way to deter the dreaded black spot fungal infection. With a newly installed rose arch at the garden I maintain weekly and the year-old roses showing early signs of this disease I planted drifts of Nachtvlinder underneath to monitor its effectiveness. At the time I wasn’t sure what chemical aspects of the plant contributed to safeguarding against black spot…just that it was a good companion.
The podcast is very enlightening. To sum, it is believed that the scent make-up of this Saliva exudes sulphur which is a well-known fungicide used to treat black spot and other fungal infections in plants. In theory making this a super natural way to help keep our roses healthy. Some have very good results and swear by it. We may have planted slightly too late for it to have a massive effect, although the black spot hasn’t got any worse. For better results, it is recommended to plant the Salvias at the same time you plant the new roses.
The name Nachtvlinder translates to moth, night moth or night fly and usually Latin names tend to give us a clue as to something unique about the plant itself. We know it is an amazing plant for pollinators in general but the emphasis on potentially benefitting night time pollinators elevates this plant’s worthiness.
This particular Salvia is also hardy down to -15 so a good choice for our cold winters. This year we recorded -11 in Bolton so we definitely need to be careful in what we select for our gardens. If you do choose to grow this, leave all the foliage on as late as possible… and I mean late, do not trim back till at least the end of March/beginning of April and keep an eye on the forecast.
One last little icing on the cake to add… the petals of Nachtvlinder can be eaten. Use in salads and yes, sprinkle to decorate your home baked desserts.