However, if you’re in a hot climate (zone 8 or higher), your sage will appreciate some afternoon shade to avoid scorching. Container-grown sage is perfect for patios, balconies, or even sunny indoor spots. Sage loves sunshine and well-draining soil. You can sow seeds outdoors around the last spring frost date or get a head start by starting them indoors 6 to 8 weeks earlier.
Bloom Time:
Grown as an annual in cool-season climates, pineapple sage (Salvia elegans ‘Pineapple’) is a perennial in warm-winter regions where it blooms from winter to spring. Butterflies and hummingbirds love the 2-inch-long flowers with the brightest royal blue blooms in the plant world. Adored by butterflies and hummingbirds, gardeners love this salvia for its low care requirements and brilliant blooms.
An award-winning selection, ‘May Night’ salvia (Salvia x sylvestris ‘May Night’) offers spikes of deep blue-purple flowers in spring and early summer. If you love blue, you’ll love gentian sage (Salvia patens), a tender perennial with two-lipped blue flowers from summer to fall. ‘Cirrus’ (Salvia farinacea ‘Cirrus’) is a delightful salvia plant bearing spikes of pure-white flowers from spring to fall. A must-grow plant in herb gardens, culinary sage (Salvia officinalis) features wonderfully scented silvery-gray leaves and spikes of lilac flowers in early summer. This perennial salvia plant is easy to grow and will reward you with gorgeous blooms from summer to fall year after year.
‘Blue Angel’ Sage
A bit of compost worked into the soil in spring is often enough. Don’t have the perfect garden spot for sage? If your garden doesn’t offer these conditions, don’t worry—sage grows beautifully in containers too.
HOW TO USE SALVIA IN YOUR LANDSCAPE
Remove the lower leaves and trim each cutting just below a node (a node is where a leaf emerges from a stem). They grow 18 inches to 5 feet tall, depending on the variety. Fortunately, salvia does not tend to attract deer or rabbits.
Make sure to plant in an area with well-draining soil that receives full sun. Lanceleaf sage (Salvia reflexa), also known as Rocky Mountain sage, is an annual variety of salvia. Purple sage (Salvia leucophylla) is a fast-growing evergreen shrub. Not only is Greek sage an excellent pollinator plant, but it also has medicinal and culinary uses.
- White sage (Salvia apiana) is a shrub with fragrant silver-white leaves that sprouts clusters of white flowers with lavender streaks.
- Salvia (/ˈsælviə/) is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with just under 1,000 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals.
- In spring, remove the oldest woody stems to encourage new growth.
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An All-America Selections award winner, ‘Lady in Red’ (Salvia coccinea ‘Lady in Red’) presents vibrant red spikes of flowers all summer. It’s more compact than many other types of blue salvia and produces more flower spikes. This salvia plant tolerates partial shade better than most varieties. A popular annual selected for its eye-catching color, red salvia (Salvia splendens) is easy to grow.
TRY THESE PROVEN WINNERS® VARIETIES
Giant purple desert sage (Salvia pachyphylla) is native to California and is very tolerant to both drought and heat. It brings hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies to gardens. It loves full sun and has stunning coral and white trumpet flowers. Coral nymph salvia (Salvia coccinea ‘coral nymph’) is an easy-growing, bushy annual that reaches heights between 2-3 feet.
One of the longest-blooming salvia plants is ‘Raspberry Delight’ (Salvia greggii ‘Raspberry Delight’). It’s wonderfully heat- and drought-tolerant, bearing clusters of lavender-purple flowers all summer over evergreen silvery foliage. For added contrast, plant this salvia with the daisy-shaped flowers of ‘Pixie Meadowbrite’ purple coneflower. This sage bears all the great attributes of its sister pineapple salvia plant but notches up the impact with its bright golden-chartreuse foliage.
When to cut back salvias?
These vigorous plants bear lance-shaped leaves and many spikes of purplish-blue blooms. Combine salvias alongside other plants with similar cultural needs of full sun and well-draining soil. Take care when choosing salvias because not all plants are hardy in all regions; some are best treated as annuals, but many perennial varieties are also available.
This hybrid sage, discovered in Argentina, is an excellent choice for coastal California, as well as western Washington and Oregon. This easy-to-grow salvia from Mexico and southeastern Arizona is drought and deer tolerant. Deadheading and some extra watering can produce a second bloom. Recognized as Perennial Plant of the Year in 1997, May Night is a prolific bloomer. This variety has aromatic foliage that smells like pineapple and is mainly grown for its foliage. It attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees, and resists deer and rabbits.
He found that the number of distinct species and subspecies could be reduced to less than 700. A modern and comprehensive study of Salvia species was done by Gabriel Alziar, in his Catalogue Synonymique des Salvia du Monde (1989) (World Catalog of Salvia Synonyms). Many species are similar to each other, and many species have varieties that have been given different specific names. The circumscription of individual species within Salvia has undergone constant revision. To make Salvia monophyletic would require the inclusion of 15 species from Rosmarinus, Perovskia, Dorystaechas, Meriandra, and Zhumeria genera. However, the immense diversity in staminal structure, vegetative habit, and floral morphology of the species within Salvia has opened the debate about its infrageneric classifications.
The tubular flowers, which have a long bloom time, are a favorite of beneficial insects, butterflies and hummingbirds. Salvia is a large genus of ornamental and culinary plants, with some 1,000 species worldwide. Buy salvia plants – Order online and have them shipped right to your door Grow this easy-care flowering plant for long-lasting summer color If not, your salvias likely should start growth by mid to late May, but this can depend on species–some emerge later than others.
Broadly, perennial salvias can be categorized into culinary and ornamental types, though some varieties bridge both worlds. Sage plants come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, each with its own characteristics and care requirements. As part of the expansive Lamiaceae family, Salvia species stand out for their fragrant leaves and eye-catching flowers. From culinary varieties to ornamental showstoppers, these aromatic plants bring both flavor and beauty to any garden. Typically found on dry hillsides and in gravelly Salvia Information soils, purple sage (Salvia leucophylla) is rugged, easy to grow, and beautiful.
‘Black and Blue’ Salvia
While it’s not quite as tasty or hardy as its silvery-gray cousin, purple sage (Salvia leucophylla) offers more color in containers, beds, and borders. Although it’s a perennial, you’ll want to replace the plants after a few years when the stems become woody and sparse. The bracts on this summer-blooming biennial salvia are long-lasting and dry well, making it a good cut flower and useful in dried-flower crafts. It flowers profusely all summer, from late spring to frost, and tolerates periods of drought. Our guide profiles the prettiest salvias to grow in gardens.
- Removing the spent flowers keeps the plant looking tidy.
- Their flowers come in a range of colors, including blue, pink, purple, red, and white.
- Different types of salvia include shrubs, herbaceous perennials, biennials or annuals.
- It attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees, and resists deer and rabbits.
- Plant it with lavender to revel in a wonderful soft scent and bold, bright colors.
‘Wendy’s Wish’ Salvia
Pliny the Elder was the first author known to describe a plant called “Salvia” by the Romans, likely describing the type species for the genus Salvia, Salvia officinalis. The name Salvia derives from Latin salvia (sage), from salvus (safe, secure, healthy), an adjective related to salūs (health, well-being, prosperity or salvation), and salvēre (to feel healthy, to heal). Some species are attractive to hummingbirds, though most are pollinated by insects. The flowers are usually tubular with two lips and only two stamens and are borne in terminal inflorescences. The leaves can be simple or compound and are arranged oppositely along the square stems.
Using sharp pruning shears, cut flower stalks between the highest set of leaves and the lowest spent flower on the stem. Others are tender perennials in warmer climates, or can be annuals or biennials. The compact habit is suitable for borders, mass plantings and containers. Use as a stand-alone accent, or as a background plant in a mixed border. Use this compact variety in containers, mass plantings or borders.
