Salvia
Salvias are pollinator magnets, drawing bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies to the garden! They’re also a low allergen plant, making them suitable for sensitive gardeners.
Plant care & info
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Salvia (sal-vee-yah)
Common Name: Species dependent
900 species from all around the world, except cold regions and tropical forests. Roughly half of the species are endemic to the Americas.
Nearly all species are full sun lovers and do best with at least 5 hours of sun daily. They can tolerate a variety of soil conditions, but well-drained, light, alkaline, and moisture-retentive soil is ideal. Most have trouble in heavy wet soils, so you’ll need to amend with compost at planting time here in the great Northwest.
Many species are not particularly long lived and may need to be replaced every 5 or so years.
With proper drainage and enough sun, Salvias are remarkably care free. Slugs, snails, and caterpillars may be attracted to the foliage. Where soils are dry and air is humid, powdery mildew may occur.
For both annual and perennial species, deadheading (removing spent flower heads as soon as they are done) will encourage new blooms and help keep the plant tidy. Prune in spring to remove damaged or unattractive stems. When pruning for health and shape, avoid pruning to bare wood, as salvias tend to take great offense to this.
Seed of all species can be sown in spring, but annuals are the easiest to grow this way. Softwood cuttings are best taken in early summer or any time during the growing season.
Division of rhizomatous species can be done at almost any time, although moving or dividing plants during the heat of summer is best avoided.
Salvia (also known as Sage) has been grown in gardens for thousands of years to make medicine and for use as culinary spice.
The ancient Romans believed Salvia sharpened the mind and imparted wisdom. In the Mediterranean, North Africa, and Europe, it was thought to be a symbol of skill, long life, and good health.
Today, not only do we still plant sage for practical uses in our gardens, but there are also dozens of ornamental species available too!
The Salvia genus is the largest in the Lamiaceae (or Mint) Family, and therefore has a wide array of flower color, foliage, and growing habits. Salvias often bloom later in the season and can carry color in the garden until first frost. They can be used in a variety of settings such as containers, hanging baskets, drought tolerant areas, and well tended garden beds.
Salvias can be annual or perennial, sub-shrub or herbaceous, and evergreen or deciduous. Leaves are opposite and carried on square, hairy stems and are often aromatic when crushed. Flowers are tubular with a split lower petal.
There are so many available that we’ve had to narrow down the list so here are a few of our favorites that are often available locally:
- Annual Salvia (One season)
- Tender Perennials (Generally comes back, but may not survive a cold winter)
- Biennial Salvia (fabulous foliage year one, fabulous foliage and flowers year two)
- Perennial Salvia (comes back each year)
