Salvia Planting Guide

Shop Salvia

A Secret Your Grandma Knew

Saliva, or flowering sage plants have grace gardens for years. And for good reason. These are easy care sources of rich blue and blue-purple spiky flowers for the middle and front of mixed perennial borders, country style gardens and rock gardens. Salvia stems are wonderful summer bouquets elements, with their jewel-tone colors and strong vertical form. Able to thrive in low moisture sites and unpalatable to rabbits, deer and even elk (and you thought deer were a challenge!), salvia encourage the presence of bees, butterflies and hummingbirds in your garden. In other words, they attract the good guys and discourage the less desirable ones. Salvias partner well with daylilies, perennial geraniums, phlox, dasies, black eyed Susans, coreopsis and roses. So, why aren't you growing salvia?

Outdoor Beds

1. Choose a location where the soil drains well. If there are still water puddles 5-6 hours after a hard rain, scout out another site. Or amend the soil with the addition of organic material to raise the level 2-3 inches to improve the drainage. Peat moss, compost, ground bark or decomposed manure all work well and are widely available. Salvia will not thrive in waterlogged soil.
2. Site your plants where they will they will receive full sun. In very sunny, hot areas light shade is also fine.
3. Your plants will be shipped "bareroot." This just means that the soil has been washed from the roots while the plant is dormant. Bareroot plants are easy to handle and settle in quickly. Tuck your salvia into the ground with the roots pointing downwards and fanned out. Place the growing points, where the new sprouts will arise from, at soil level. Situate May Night salvia about 12-16"apart, dwarf Marcus about 12" apart and Purple Rain, which grows larger, 18-24" apart.
4. After planting, water your salvia well to settle the soil around the roots. Warmth from the sun will encourage the production of new growth. Water lightly until your plant has broken dormancy and begun to produce new shoots and leaves.
5. Water periodically during the growing season if rain does not occur, keeping in mind that weekly deep waterings are better than lighter drinks every day or two. Total water (rain and irrigation) of about 1" per week is a good general rule of thumb.
6. Should your plants begin to get leggy midseason, feel free to trim them by half. There's no special science to this - just get out your pruners and start snipping. For Purple Rain, deadheading the first flush of flowers encourages a fuller second bloom later in the season.
7. Feel free to cut flower stems for summer bouquets. This won't hurt your plants and often helps keep them producing new flower spikes.
8. In late fall, your salvia foliage will fade and wilt with the onset of colder nights. At this point you may clip the stems to within 3-4" of the ground with the knowledge that next spring will bring fresh growth.
9. Hardy salvia plants grow larger over time, developing into clumps. These clumps may be divided by slicing them in half vertically with a sharp shovel and the pieces can be replanted or shared with gardening friends. Divide in the fall every few years, if you like.

Pots, Barrels, Tubs & Urns

1. Fill your containers with good quality, well-drained soil. Almost any commercially available potting medium will work fine. Make sure there are adequate drainage holes; salvia must not sit in waterlogged soil. Feel free to plant other perennials with your salvia keeping in mind the need for similar light and moisture needs.
2. Site your plants where they will they will receive full sun. In very sunny, hot areas light shade is also fine.
3. Your plants will be shipped "bareroot." This just means that the soil has been washed from the roots while the plant is dormant. Bareroot plants are easy to handle and settle in quickly. Tuck your salvia into the soil with the roots pointing downwards and fanned out. Place the growing points, where the new sprouts will arise from, at soil level.
4. After planting, water your salvia well to settle the soil around the roots. Warmth from the sun will encourage the production of new growth. Water lightly until your plant has broken dormancy and begun to produce new shoots and leaves.
5. Water periodically during the growing season if rain does not occur, keeping in mind that weekly deep waterings are better than lighter drinks every day or two. Total water (rain and irrigation) of about 1" per week is a good general rule of thumb. Modify as needed for your individual situation.
6. Should your plants begin to get leggy midseason, feel free to trim them by up to half. There's no special science to this - just get out your pruners and start snipping. For Purple Rain, deadheading the first flush of flowers encourages a fuller second bloom later in the season.
7. Feel free to cut flower stems for summer bouquets. This won't hurt your plants and often helps keep them producing new flower spikes.
8. In late fall, your salvia foliage will fade and wilt with the onset of colder nights. At this point you may clip the stems to within 3-4" of the ground with the knowledge that next spring will bring fresh growth.