Salvia (perennial variety)

Hi Team GC,

I am thinking of growing a few different varieties of "Salvia" the perennial variety ....

I would appreciate your knowledge and experience on what varieties are worth growing and why ?

I do like the dark purple "Amistad" but also "Hot Lips" looks great as well and not forgetting the blue varieties "African Skies" ...

I look forward you to your replies (I hope I have some please) also best mail order to get my hands on them would be ideal.

Spruce

 

[email protected] and @CarolineL

 

@noisette47 - I haven't grown many! But Salvia Black and Blue seems pretty robust and flowered well till late in the autumn. I also found the variety Burgundy, though much smaller, flowered practically continuously. Salvia sagitatta was a terrific foliage plant and was about to flower in December until the frost got to it - I live in hope! And of course argentea has a lovely furry silver leaf - best in drier areas than mine.

 

Salvia guaranitica "Black and Blue" is still producing flowers with me. I like S microphylla "Kew Red" and have had it for years. S involuctra has also grown well for me I like the colour of the flowers and the scent of the foliage; also S confertifolia with its spikes of orange flowers grew well for some years until the cold snap of spring 2018 carried it off. S greggi "Raspberry Ripple" is another favourite, doesn't get as big as S microphylla.

 

I've grown Amistad regularly and its easy to come by can't remember where you are based Spruce ? Northern Ireland rings a bell for some reason try ballyrobert gardens for NI , I buy quite a lot of little 9cm perennials from longacre garden centre they usually stock amistad and Black and blue but neither are perennial for me so I lift them chuck them in a pot then into the GH to over winter , I do the same with phyllis fancy as well.

Hot lips is another common variety and flowers its socks off like many salvias. Salvia African skies is a plant that confuses me because I am not sure which one they are referring to or if they are the same plant, I grow a Salvia Ulignosa African Skies commonly called the bog sage which has small sky blue flowers very late in the season, it tends to wonder a bit for me.

The true bone hardy perennials are more a less the Nemorosa + others, some varieties carrodonna - mainhut - V.purple rain - amthsty plus many more.

 

Salvia 'Hot Lips' has survived everything the climate here has thrown at it. S. Amistad and 'Black'n'Bloom' and a few assorted greggii hybrids too.
'Joy' pegged it, and S. officianalis purpurea and Icterina are not long-lived, but were in the UK. Lovely, well-shaped foliage plants.
S. farinacea and 'Victoria' are mostly perennial here. S. patens never amounts to much and then fizzles out.
S. argentea is lovely if kept dry and protected from snails.

 

To my mind "Hot Lips" has one problem the variability of colouring, I have seen plants with all red flowers and one that are mainly white. I think this is temperature dependent and sorts itself out as the season goes on.
Rosemary has now been moved into Salvia by the taxonomists and is Salvia rosmarinus, lovely plant hardy, given good drainage and gives all year round interest and flavour. I have a prostrate form that layers well and doesn't get leggy.

 

Wales....