GardenTender Perennial Flower · zones 10–11 · 23 varieties
Salvia
Salvia splendens
Lamiaceae — the same plant family as english lavender, basil, bee balm, mint and 11 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
Salvia (Salvia splendens) is a tender perennial flower for USDA zones 10–11. It wants full sun and pH 6–7 soil, with about 1–1.5 in of water weekly. It matures in about 85–100 days from sowing, or 45–60 days from setting out a transplant. Watch for aphids and powdery mildew. Below: its full sourced profile from 5 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. This calendar assumes the crop is started indoors. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
Site & soil
- Hardiness zones
- 10–11
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6–7
- Soil texture
- Loam, Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Tender
No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it and the temperature that would kill it. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.
The plant
- Mature height
- 0.7–3 ft
- Mature spread
- 8–18 in
- Growth rate
- Fastest
- Spacing in row
- 12–36 in
- Between rows
- 12–24 inest
- Planting depth
- 0–0.0625 in
- Container size
- 1–2 gal — low end is the minimum, high end is betterest
- Support
- Self-supporting
- Grown from
- Transplant, Cutting
There is no line here for which parts are eaten, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Moderate
- Water per week
- 1–1.5 in/wkest
- Critical water
- Establishmentest
- Feeding
- Heavy
Timing & fruiting
- Days to maturity
- 85–100 days from seed · 45–60 days from transplantest
- Harvest cues
- First flowers
Planted again for autumn
- Set plants out by
- early Sep typical · zone 6b
45 days to maturity from setting a plant out — that is what our sources measure for this crop, so this is a date for planting out and not a sowing date, counted back from the first frost above. Not published for anywhere in particular: it is your own frost date and this crop's own figure, which is why it works wherever you are. A days-to-maturity figure is a catalog number for a good season rather than a promise, and a cold month moves it.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
| Variety | Type | Habit | Days | Color | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amistad Anise Sage | Guaranitica | Bush | 45–60 | Purple | NC State Extension records this asdraws bees and butterflies · gets by on less water |
| Black and Blue Anise Sage | Guaranitica | Upright | 45–60 | Purple | Missouri Botanical Garden describes this asdraws bees and butterflies · smells good |
| Bonfire Scarlet Sage | Splendens | Bush | 45–60 | Red | BackyardGardener.com describes this astakes the heat |
| Bouquet Mix Painted Sage | Viridis | Upright | 45–60 | Bicolor | Thomas Jefferson's Monticello Shop describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase |
| Cirrus Mealycup Sage | Farinacea | Branching | 45–60 | White | |
| Claryssa Mix Painted Sage | Viridis | Upright | 45–60 | Bicolor | NC State Extension records this asdeer usually leave it alone · draws bees and butterflies · good for cutting and putting in a vase |
| Coral Nymph Tropical Sage | Coccinea | Bush | 45–60 | Bicolor | Swallowtail Garden Seeds describes this asdraws bees and butterflies |
| Evolution Series Mealycup Sage | Farinacea | Upright | 45–60 | Purple | All-America Selections describes this astakes the heat · draws bees and butterflies · good for cutting and putting in a vase · an All-America Selections winner |
| Flare Scarlet Sage | Splendens | Bush | 45–60 | Red | BackyardGardener.com describes this astakes the heat · deer usually leave it alone |
| Lady in Red Tropical Sage | Coccinea | Dwarf | 45–60 | Red | All-America Selections describes this asan All-America Selections winner |
| Marble Arch Blue Painted Sage Heirloom | Viridis | Upright | 45–60 | Purple | Renee's Garden Seeds describes this asdeer usually leave it alone · draws bees and butterflies · good for cutting and putting in a vase |
| Marble Arch Pink Painted Sage Heirloom | Viridis | Upright | 45–60 | Red | Renee's Garden Seeds describes this asdeer usually leave it alone · draws bees and butterflies · good for cutting and putting in a vase |
| Marble Arch White Painted Sage Heirloom | Viridis | Upright | 45–60 | White | Renee's Garden Seeds describes this asdeer usually leave it alone · draws bees and butterflies · good for cutting and putting in a vase |
| Mystic Spires Blue Mealycup Sage | Longispicata X Farinacea | Compact | 45–60 | Purple | Texas Superstar (Texas A&M AgriLife) records this astakes the heat · deer usually leave it alone |
| Rhea Mealycup Sage | Farinacea | Compact | 45–60 | Purple | Garden Center Marketing describes this ashappy in a pot |
| Salsa Series Scarlet Sage F1 | Splendens | Compact | 56 | Bicolor | Summer Hill Seeds describes this asdraws bees and butterflies |
| Sizzler Mix Scarlet Sage | Splendens | Compact | 63 | Bicolor | |
| Snow Nymph Tropical Sage | Coccinea | Bush | 45–60 | White | BackyardGardener.com describes this asdraws bees and butterflies · deer usually leave it alone |
| Victoria Blue Mealycup Sage | Farinacea | Upright | 125 | Purple | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this astakes the heat · good for cutting and putting in a vase |
| Victoria White Mealycup Sage | Farinacea | Upright | 98 | White | NC State Extension records this asdeer usually leave it alone · draws bees and butterflies · good for cutting and putting in a vase |
| Vista Purple Scarlet Sage | Splendens | Upright | 56 | Purple | PanAmerican Seed describes this astakes the heat |
| Vista Red Scarlet Sage | Splendens | Upright | 56 | Red | PanAmerican Seed describes this astakes the heat |
| Vista Salmon Scarlet Sage | Splendens | Upright | 56 | Red | NC State Extension records this asdeer usually leave it alone · draws bees and butterflies · good for cutting and putting in a vase |
- Clemson Cooperative Extension
- Missouri Botanical Garden
- NC State Extension
- University of Illinois Extension
- University of Minnesota Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 14 of the 20 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
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