Some Thoughts on Salvias:
"For use and delight"

Some Thoughts on Salvias | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Salvias for Delight, continued

Tender Perennials

Some of the most dramatic and exotic salvias originated in Mexico and South America and thus are not able to withstand our winters outdoors. These tender perennials are best treated as annuals and planted out in early summer with cuttings taken in early fall to overwinter for next year's plants. The spectacular blooms, attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds, are ample reward for your trouble.

Pineapple Sage, Salvia elegans, with its scarlet flowers and pineapple-scented leaves, is one of the most popular salvias. Under ideal conditions it will survive the winter, but most often it is replanted in the spring. It thrives in a well-drained location in full sun. A hybrid, S. elegans 'Frieda Dixon', has deep salmon flowers. The flowers and leaves of these salvias flavor fruit drinks and dishes.

Bog Sage, S. uliginosa, can tolerate wetter conditions than other salvias. Semi-hardy, it spreads by rhizomes and, if you are fortunate, the resulting patch of tall slender stems bearing pale blue blossoms will be a wonderful sight. An outstanding example of one of the few yellow salvias is S. madrensis, commonly called forsythia sage. Growing over four feet tall, it has an unusual ridged square stem with large heart-shaped leaves and aromatic butter-yellow flowers and calyces.

One of the most unusual sages is S. involucrata, Roseleaf Sage. With magenta flowers surrounded by bracts of the same color, it can reach six feet in height. A spontaneous hybrid from the garden of Betsy Clebsch is "Mulberry Jam", which is only four feet high.

Anise-scented sage, S. guaranitica, produces stunning deep blue flowers over a long period. Although reported to be semi-hardy, mine survived four of the past five winters. Since it is late to appear in the spring, I don't know whether it came through this winter. Over the years it has spread by means of rhizomes which can be used for propagation. A cultivar, S. guaranitica 'Argentine Skies', has pale blue flowers; S. guaranitica 'Black and Blue' has dark blue-black calyces which set off the deep blue flowers. Another cultivar, new to me this year, is S. guaranitica 'Omaha' with very unusual variegated foliage. S. guaranitica does best in partial shade.

An outstanding hybrid between S. guaranitica and S. gesneraeflora is 'Purple Majesty'. Its five-foot-long stems bear ten inch inflorescences covered with large violet flowers with purple calyces. These last for days as cut flowers and retain their color when dried. S. 'Indigo Spires' is another tall hybrid, believed between S. farinacea and S. longispicata. It produces violet flowers with purple calyces all summer.

Mexican Bush Sage, S. leucantha, is one of the most commonly grown salvias. One plant can produce numerous four foot flowering stems from a single rootstock. Useful as cut flowers, the white blossoms and purple calyces also retain their color when dried. Another form has purple blossoms. Referred to as S. leucantha 'All Purple', it is also called S. leucantha 'Midnight'. One of the most popular of the California salvias is S. clevelandii, which thrives where summers are dry and winter temperatures don't go below 20 degrees. It has aromatic grey-green leaves and violet blue flowers which usually appear in early summer. >>

Page 1 Salvias for Use
Page 2 Salvias for Delight: Annuals and Bedding Plants
Page 3 Salvias for Delight: Perennials
Page 4 Salvias for Delight: Tender Perennials
Page 5 Source Books and Further Reading; Plant and Seed Sources