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A very large and varied genus of plants that includes the culinary herb sage as well as exotic tender plants from the new world. They grow in a wide range of conditions, soils and situations: there is a Salvia for everyone! Care instructions are covered under each variety. Great bee plants.

Photo: Salvias Schneehügel (white, lower left) and Ostfriesland (blue, centre) contribute to this June planting in our garden The bright pink Dianthus Devon Wizard and scarlet Lychnis chalcedonica also contribute the fresh-coloured scene  © 2005 SpecialPerennials.com All Rights Reserved.

Hardiness:

Salvias vary in hardiness and winter care is covered for each variety, but please bear in mind that it is not only cold but wetness that can kill a plant over winter. Many Salvias are very cold hardy but this is because they are covered with a blanket of snow in winter that keeps the roots dry. Others withstand cold winters in mountains which again present very different conditions to the garden. In our details we state how hardy the plants have proved to be in our garden.

Position:

Some Salvia prefer warm but slightly shaded spots, but as a general rule in the UK you can't go wrong by putting a Salvia in the sunniest position possible. New World species and cultivars are best if given a warm sheltered spot for winter. These types also tend to break easily in strong winds, so a leeward of a wall, fence or taller plant is beneficial

Flowering Times:

Most Salvia flower in flushes. The tender, New World types can flower throughout the winter in a warm conservatory or heated greenhouse. Winter conditions can also influence how early flowering starts. For example, after a mild winter S.elegans can start flowering in late May, but after a cold winter when it dies back to its underground root stock, flowering might not start until late July.

See pictures of Salvias in bloom in our Garden Diary entry for October 2008. Some of these New World Salvias will be available for sale from summer 2010. They are brittle and therefore difficult  to post but if you don't mind a pruned back plant we will send them. 

Propagation:

Read about taking cuttings of Salvias in our Garden Diary entries for October 2009 and November 2009.

Salvia argentea AGM: Large sliver grey leaves and lilac flushed, white flowers held in whorls around 2ft 6In / 75cm tall stems. Will self seed, but will be short lived (i.e. usually dies!) if allowed to set seed. Pretty hardy, although the leaves are killed by frost. Its best to cut them away when the weather warms up to avoid rotting of the rootstock. In the hard winters of 2008/9 and 2009/10 about 75% of ours came okay in well-drained soil. 

RHS Award of Garden Merit (H3).

Mail Order size sold out for 2010. Larger plants available for collection. You can reserve mail order plants for spring 2011 delivery by placing an order now.

Salvia nemorosa Lubecca AGM: Purple-blue flowers in massed spikes. 2ft / 60cm tall. Flowers June to August (again in October). Fully hardy.

RHS award of garden merit.

The epithet nemorosa means "of the woods"

Salvia nemorosa Pusztaflamme AGM: Double violet flowers on 2ft / 60cm tall spikes. Flowers June to August (again in October). Fully hardy. Puszta is a Hungarian term for a steppe-like landscape, so the name possible literally means "Flame of the Steppe"

RHS award of garden merit.

Mail Order size sold out for 2010. You can reserve mail order plants for spring 2011 delivery by placing an order now.

Salvia nemorosa Ostfriesland ("East Friesland") AGM: Ultramarine flowers backed by claret bracts make this Salvia stand out in the border (see photo at top of page) despite being only 2ft 3in tall.  Cut back hard each time flowers fade to encourage repeat flowering. Fully hardy

RHS award of garden merit

Mail Order size sold out for 2010. Larger plants available for collection. You can reserve mail order plants for spring 2011 delivery by placing an order now.

Salvia patens: Really vivid blue flowers. The plants are tuberous and hardy in a warm spot- about as hardy as a Dahlia. If you are worried about losing it, dig up in November and pot up and keep in a cold greenhouse, porch, conservatory etc; or save seed and sow in February in some heat. The plant pictured here came through the winter of 08/09 and by February was starting to grow new shoots. Came through winter of 2009/10 but about 6 weeks later back into growth.  One well-known nursery claims this plant only has one or two flowers at a time. I think our picture safely contradicts this opinion!. About 45-60cm / 1ft 6in -  2ft tall. 

The epithet patens means "spreading". I'm not sure what this refers to. 

Salvia patens "Peggy's Pink": Our own introduction from seed saved from Salvia patens Chilcombe perhaps crossed with Cambridge Blue. It is pale pink from rose-coloured buds. Very floriferous and about the same height and vigour as the basic blue species. Seems to be as hardy as other patens varieties.

Named in memory of Martin's Mum.

Salvia x.sylvestris Blauhügel AGM (Blue Hill): Pale blue flowers with violet calyxes in short spikes 1ft 6in - 2ft tall from June through to frosts in flushes. Completely hardy and trouble free.

RHS Award of Garden Merit

The epiphet sylvestris means "growing in the woods"