Salvia Care: Your Guide To Growing Salvia Plants
If you’re looking for a colorful and low maintenance ornamental that attracts pollinators and thrives in garden beds or containers, look no further than salvias. With over 900 different types of salvia plants to choose from, you can find a salvia to suit any garden space. These include annual salvias that function as festive bedding plants, hardy perennial salvias that come back year after year, and edible salvias for culinary herb gardens.
No matter what types you choose to grow, these salvia care tips will help you maintain healthy and productive salvia plants even if you’re a self-proclaimed “brown thumb!”
Salvia Care
Benefits of Growing Salvia
The name salvia comes from the Latin word “salvere,” which means “to heal.” So, it’s no surprise that salvias were traditionally grown as medicinal plants. However, gardeners today mostly keep ornamental salvias for their aromatic foliage and showy flowers, which look right at home in cottage gardens, woodland gardens, pollinator habitats, and other landscape designs.
Beyond their aesthetic appeal, salvias are magnets for pollinators, and they’re one of the best plants to grow if you want to attract bees and hummingbirds. Naturally deer and rabbit resistant, salvias are surprisingly hardy plants that thrive in a range of conditions, tolerate dry climates and drought, and don’t need much fertilizer or water.
Culinary salvias, also known as sage, are also edible and they’re must-have plants if you love making roasted dishes and soups.
Choosing the Right Salvia
There is a ton of variety in the genus Salvia, which can make choosing the right salvia for your garden a bit tricky. Some species of salvia are true annuals, biennials, or perennial plants, but some salvias are tender perennials that can be grown as annuals in cold locations. Flower colors and bloom time can also vary significantly, and salvias can range in height from 18 inches to over 5 feet tall!
What salvias you choose to grow will depend on your gardening style and your growing location. While most salvias grow best in full sun gardens with a USDA hardiness zone rating of 5 through 9, you can find a few ultra hardy salvias that tolerate colder areas and even partial shade.
Common Varieties of Salvia
Salvias are part of the mint family, so you can expect them to sport square stems and have a relatively fast growth rate. But different types of salvias offer other charms, such as uniquely colored flowers and richly fragrant leaves. Here are a few of the most popular types of salvias to grow and why we love them!
- Lilac Sage (Salvia verticillata). This herbaceous perennial salvia has stunningly vibrant purple flower spikes.
- Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) is a North American native salvia with flashy purple, pink, white, orange, or red flowers that catch the eye.
- Bog Sage (Salvia uliginosa). This bright blue salvia tolerates moist soil better than most other salvias!
- Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans). An edible option, pineapple sage is a hummingbird favorite with lime green leaves and crimson blooms.
- Scarlet Sage (Salvia splendens). A famously heat tolerant salvia, scarlet sage is native to the Southeastern United States and Mexico.
- Common Sage (Salvia officinalis). Also known as culinary sage or garden sage, common sage is a must for herb gardens.
- Woodland Sage (Salvia nemorosa). This adaptable plant produces deep purple flowers in full sun or part shade.
Salvia Light Requirements
Most salvias are full sun plants that need a minimum of 6 to 8 hours of sunlight daily. There are some salvias that tolerate part shade too, but they may not produce as many flowers.
Salvia Water Requirements
Salvias don’t need much water, although you may want to give them a drink during dry spells. Once established in the garden, salvias can usually get by without supplemental water, although container-grown plants should be hand-watered when the soil feels dry.
Planting Techniques
Salvias are often grown from nursery-started plants, but you can also grow your salvias from seed.
To grow salvia from seeds, direct sow salvia seeds outdoors in mid-to-late spring after the danger of frost has passed. Scatter the seeds evenly across the soil surface, lightly cover the seeds with earth, and keep the seeds well-watered until they sprout.
To grow salvias from potted plants, dig a planting hole that’s twice as wide as your plant’s pot and then position the plant in the hole so that the top of the root ball is even with the soil line. Backfill the hole with soil, firm the soil around the base of the plant, and water regularly to help your new plant settle in. For best results, plant salvias outdoors in spring or fall and space multiple plants at least 1 to 3 feet apart.
Soil
Salvias can develop root rot in soggy gardens, so make sure to plant your salvias in loose soil with good drainage and a slightly acidic pH. If you have heavy clay soil, try mixing some compost into your garden beds before planting.
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is often not used on salvias since these light feeders can develop weak stems in overly rich soil. If you want to give your salvias a boost, amend the soil with compost before planting and then fertilize your plants once a year in early spring with an organic, slow-release, all-purpose granular fertilizer.
Pruning
Deadheading spent flowers and pruning away dead, woody stems can encourage salvia plants to rebloom. But with salvias, pruning is not always needed, and you shouldn’t prune salvias in the fall if you want your plants to go to seed.
Pruning is a big part of salvia care. This details how to prune 3 types of salvias.
Propagation
Salvias are usually propagated from seed, but you can also propagate softwood salvia cuttings to get new plants. Perennial varieties should be divided about once every 3 to 4 years, which is another easy way to get more free salvias for your garden!
Pests
Thanks to their strong scent, salvia plants are naturally resistant to many common plant pests, although they can sometimes attract aphids, whiteflies, and spider mites. Plant diseases, like root rot or powdery mildew, tend to be more common on salvia plants. However, these issues can be prevented by following proper spacing guidelines, reducing watering, and watering salvias directly at the soil line.
Companion Planting
Because they naturally repel pests, salvias can be fantastic companions for many popular ornamentals, including roses, daylilies, Shasta daisies, and asters. Culinary sage can also be a pest-repelling companion plant for cabbages, carrots, and tomatoes.
Get tips on herb companion planting here.
Salvias Care In Pots
Salvias grown in pots need the same basic care as salvias in the garden. Keep your potted salvias in a sunny spot, fertilize them lightly once a year in spring, and make sure they’re growing in well-draining soil that doesn’t stay soggy.
Pots that are at least 8 to 10 inches in diameter are appropriate for most smaller salvias, but plants may need to be repotted into larger pots once every 1 to 2 years.
Salvia Care In Winter
Annual and tender salvias die back when cold weather hits, but most hardy salvias survive the winter months and come back in spring. Adding a 2—to 3-inch layer of mulch can be enough for hardy perennial salvias, but tender varieties may need to be sheltered with screening, too.
It’s best to avoid pruning salvias in the fall, as late pruning can make plants more vulnerable to cold.
Harvesting and Using Salvia
Not all salvias are edible, so always research the plants you’re growing before harvesting salvia leaves and flowers for teas and other recipes.
Culinary sage is the most popular salvia in edible gardens. This plant can be harvested little by little as needed for recipes or in larger quantities for freezing and drying. The best time to harvest culinary sage is in spring and summer, before the plant flowers, although you can pick sage leaves throughout the growing season.
Ornamental salvias can also be grown for cut flowers, but be sure to leave some salvia blooms in your garden for pollinators. Make your harvesting cuts above a leaf node to encourage branching and never harvest more than 1/3 of your salvia leaves or flowers in one go.
Are you interested in culinary herbs? This list of 22 herbs for cooking will be a good reference.
Salvia Care Conclusion
No matter what type of salvia you pick for your garden, salvias are always rewarding plants to keep. Just provide these low maintenance beauties with full sun and well-drained soil, and then sit back and wait for the flower show to begin. If you want to enjoy salvia blooms throughout the growing season, try growing a few different types of salvias together for continuous blooms from spring through fall!
Happy Gardening,
-Lauren
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