Rockin' Deep Purple salvia tags say it's only hardy in zones 9-10 but I've had it reliably return in my zone 7b garden the past 3-5 years. It's a bit of a bully similar to your larger purple/black but such a pollinator favorite. I also really love my japanese yellow sage (Salvia koyamae) which is more of a shade garden/woodland garden groundcover sage that blooms in the fall.

@dia9491

10 ай бұрын

I’m in 7A and my Rockin deep purple comes back too! I didn’t even know it was 9-10 zone. I just assumed because it came back it was zone 7 lol

I love Salvia Gregii, they are pretty much an evergreen here in 8a, I cut them back a few weeks ago and they are blooming again and will give a better show in a few more weeks. They go non stop since march for us and if you trim them right they are nice evergreen mounds.

@RedCoin91

10 ай бұрын

Salvia greggii, my favorites 😊 I'm in zone 7b and they resisted to low 19F last winter, newly planted in a bit of clay soil without any protection They are blooming non stop since may. Cherry lips 😊

My favorite is Victoria Blue/ Mealycup sage. I’ve had this plant in my garden for years, and it thrives in my area where extreme heat is the norm, and is hardy in the winter temps down to zero. I think the foliage on this salvia is the prettiest.

@sakurachanmemory8921

10 ай бұрын

So true. It's stands out too.

I agree! Salvia never lets me down, even in the midst of extreme heat. I can also count on my Mexican Petunias to look amazing with nonstop blooms.

YES! Mystic Spires Blue Salvia is a ROCK STAR in my garden! I need to divide mine or just give it a haircut, but the pollinators never stop working on it! Lol! Great plant! Happy Gardening 🌻

@soniaverduzco9225

10 ай бұрын

Same here, it’s my favorite summer perennial. The pollinators love it!

I was just walking through my yard yesterday and decided that the salvia, both annual and perennial, is my favorite plant in the garden. They can take the heat and the lack of rain and just keep on blooming. I think my favorites are the Pink, Violet and White Profusion by Proven Winners and the summer jewel series.

I am absolutely in love with "May Night" salvia nemorosa in zone 8b. Such beautiful dark stalks, rich purple flower spires and pollinators love it!

@sharonthehuman5954

10 ай бұрын

I got several of those on Lowe's clearance last year and not really liking them myself. Do yours kind of die off this time of year?

@katiekane5247

10 ай бұрын

​@@sharonthehuman5954this is their "ugliest" in my experience, they'll be better looking next year & you can whack them late summer if they get poor looking.

@annakasikkink7489

10 ай бұрын

​@@sharonthehuman5954I just added some this spring and had the same experience. Came back from 10 days traveling and they'd just melted. Not dead but not looking happy. I figure they need to be better established to deal with a short period of neglect.

Rockin’ Fuschia salvia for me. The hummingbirds absolutely can’t resist it, even when I’m working in the garden just a few feet away. I will find a place for it in any garden that I ever grow!

We are in zone 5A in Madison, Wisconsin. Our favorite salvia is Salvia Amistad. What a tremendous plant. It easily grows to 5 feet or taller and is covered in flowers that the hummingbirds adore. We have also discovered that the tubers can be dug up and stored in a yard waste bag over the wintertime. Plant the tubers in the spring, and the plants vigorously grow.

@cyhomer

10 ай бұрын

I have looked for seeds for Amistad to no avail. If you ever would consider selling me some seeds, that would be awesome!

@cyhomer

10 ай бұрын

My favorite salvia so far is Scarlet Sage, an annual here in zone 6a…just keeps going..and the brilliant red is so good. Looking forward to it self-seeding, or saving seeds for next year.

I had Black and Blue in pots,they grew 3ft plus and the hummingbirds would sit on the stems and rest! Amazing. I’ve had a hard time finding them. jd

Black and Blue guaranitica (and most likely the Rockin deep purple and blue suede shoes) have tubers. I have divided mine just fine in the past. For those in cooler than zone 7/8, you could try trimming the plant back to about 6-8" and then when you dig it up look for tubers with a stem intact and place them in a pot in a location that stays above 40-50* that is sheltered from wind/rain during winter. When last frost date has passed, plant them in soil or continue growing them in an appropriate sized pot. I'm zone 8b, so I've not tried it, but have divided the plant by separating clumps of tubers (don't cut the tubers themselves).

Salvias are the most dependable, longest blooming flower in my landscape. Love them. Covered in bees & butterflies.

@sakurachanmemory8921

10 ай бұрын

That's true, it's pretty isn't it. It stands out well.

I grew a Salvia coccinea, ‘Hummingbird Coral Nymph’, from seed this year, and it’s absolutely beautiful. Shockingly, the pollinators are complete ignoring it. They’re all over the sterile, white bread ‘Rockin Blue Suede Shoes’ in the same bed, though. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Hot Lips! A hummingbird favorite. Also, Mysty and Fairy Queen annuals in containers, shorter and good bloomers. I'll be adding more next year after seeing this video, thank you!

@rachelsgarden

10 ай бұрын

I’ve found that fritillary butterflies prefer the hot lips red flowers too!

I have lots of shade, so the Asian salvias. Really like the variegated Salvia nipponica 'Fuji Snow'.

@flowerpixel

10 ай бұрын

Good to know! I don't have full sun anywhere in my yard but I love salvias

After seeing it in your garden, I grew Summer Jewels pink and red from seed, and they will always have a place in my garden now. They bloomed quickly, and are just amazing

That rockin playing the blues salvia from proven winners is an absolute rockstar in my zone 5 garden It is the most reliable plant I’ve ever grown I think and it never has issues , just always healthy and thriving and huge ! So impressive ! I hate spending money on annuals but it’s worth it every year without fail !

LOVE seeing all the pollinators! Having a great year myself here in Brunswick Hills, Zone 6a, SW of Cleve., OH. Monarchs, Eastern Swallowtails, Black Swallowtails, hummers, toad family, morning dove family... ALL sorts of bees all over my self-seeded-from-last-year verbena bonariensis! THIS is what I live for come spring, summer, and fall. GREAT job, Jim and Stephanie! (and Holly, too!).

Playin the Blues salvia from Proven Winners Rockin Series. They get huge, are perennial for us in z 8a NC, and have gorgeous large leaves with non-stop blooms from late April til frost. Outstanding pollinator attractor... Always covered with bees.

Salvia Hotlips is my favorite to date! So appreciate the information about the different varieties!

I have Rockin Blue Suede Shoes salvia in containers by my front porch. The hummingbirds are absolutely crazy about them! I see the hummingbirds every time I sit in that porch during daylight hours!

I love Summer Jewel white especially since it self seeds all over my property. A few of my other favorites are Coral Nymph (another salvia coccinea) and White Flame (similar to Victoria White).

I'm in Indy (6a),and bought 3 April Night salvias in early spring and put them in a half barrel. I'm just finishing the 3rd round of blooms and will cut them back this weekend. There must be 50 spires that are close to a foot tall. This little trio of 6" tall baby salvias has gone crazy! The bees go nuts over them, and each new bloom is bigger than the last! All salvias are just the best bang for buck plants I own. Maybe 5.98 each at Lowe's in the spring and bam!

Salvia aren't terribly showy, but I've been falling in love with them, because they are such a work horse for me! Mystic Spires Blue (farinacea) are always covered in bees. I have Black and Blue (guaranitica) and it can definitely become thuggish, but hummingbirds go to that first in my garden. My dad has some in Oklahoma 7a that is planted next to his brick house on the east side and it is doing great, made it through winter '22.

@dawnmitchell11

10 ай бұрын

I've been trying some of the more dry loving Mexican varieties. I'm in Texas 8b, but I have clay soil, so it's been tricky trying to get the water right. Sinaloensis and chamaedryoides varieties.

I'm growing Purple & Bloom salvia this year, and it is a hummingbird and bee favorite. The hummingbirds make such quick work going around to all the flowers that I can't imagine there being enough nectar left for the bees. I guess they just continually produce a lot of nectar.

I discovered salvia Victoria white this year with a cell pack, and I was delighted to know that you can save the seed because I germinated a couple already. It is an amazing thriller in my potted plants. I did plant one in the ground and it didn’t seem to thrive as much, but maybe next year I will direct seed it and see if it turns into a stronger plant in the ground as I have clay.

I also love the salvias. Love the Victoria's, black and blues. Since I sell proven winners I love blue swede shoes. If a customer comes in and want a hummingbird attractor I recommend fuchsia and since my greenhouse is open in flies a hummer and goes to the fuchsia salvia. Nuff said.

The Bees make a hole at the base of the flower to access the nectar easier in my garden, clever

😍love your collection of Salvia.

Thanks for the great content on information of a group of flowering workhorses.

I love that combo of the Summer Jewels and zinnia!

Love salvias❤I have a bunch but want more each summer! Just planted that pineapple sage. Would love for it to overwinter.

I have May Night and East Friesland and a pink one. The Frieslands are 11 years old and one of the May nights is 3 years old. They perform well in the spring but when our (7a) temperatures reach the upper 90’s they turn brown and go dormant until the next spring. I think they may need dappled sun, not the full sun they get now. Plus this year they got pushed out by some very, very thuggish silver carpet lamb’s ear (which is coming out!). I keep thinking the heat zone for these salvias should be 7. I just love the smoother leaf, larger flower salvias like you showed especially that coral one that you need a whole year to get established. Really pretty.

You have so much variety. Crazy! I love it

The only salvia I've successfully grown was I believe "May Night," or possibly "Caradonna," about 20-25 years ago.

I love summer jewels red salvia. I only plant the red variety because I want them to reseed themselves as red. They are very aggressive at reseeding themselves which is a big plus for me. I have to thin them down a bit each spring as well as pulling up plants that spread to areas I don't want, but they are very easy to remove and look fantastic from late spring to late fall here in Dallas. In my beds where the soil is improved they get 3+ feet tall by end of summer.

@rachelsgarden

10 ай бұрын

I had one reseed in my Bermuda grass last fall, so I overwintered it and planted this spring. I haven’t had mine get that tall yet- that’s awesome! A great, showy plant for sure!

I love salvia and had no idea there were so many different varieties! I’ve grown Victoria blue. So gorgeous! Thank you Jim I’ll be looking for them at my local nurseries.

I love my rocken blue salvia and or rocken purple salvia. The hummingbirds love it. It is an annual in Southern Indiana. Thanks for the video.

Thanks! I agree Salvia is very dependable. One of my favorite flower in the garden

I am in zone 8 eastern NC and my favorite is Black & Blue Salvia. Never stops blooming and the hummingbirds and bees love it!

I adore the Summer Jewels, they pop up in places but never mind seeing them. I've gotten bud worms on a few this last week but there's so many, I've still got flowers. There's no salmon/peachy/ pink like the Summer Jewel!

Great Video thanks Jim!

@JimPutnam

10 ай бұрын

Thank you so much!

I love mystic blue salvia, as you said, the bees are working on it till late in the evening! I really love that section of your garden with the summer jewels red salvia, the yellow zinnias, the arborvitae in the back then that darker green plants on the other end topped with that hummingbird stake…Stunning!!!

Hummingbird forest fire (salvia coccinea)- I love the showy true red flowers contrasting with dark calyxes and its narrow/dense/upright habit. An easy pop of color in a small space. Another favorite is salvia greggii var. diane, white (not certain on cultivar), and mirage hot pink. Greggii were in full bloom here when the Dec freeze hit and stayed evergreen.

I’m in zone 7 and my rhythm and blues comes back every year bigger and badder 😂. It’s a BEAST.

I put Mystic Spires Blue in my California zone 8b garden in June and I am in love with it. It's doubled in size and is always loaded with the most beautiful fuzzy looking bloom spikes. It's covered in pollinators from dawn till dusk and is visited frequently by our hummingbirds. Definitely will be planting more of them.

We have many salvias, love them all, but a favorite I got when visiting family on Long Island, Rockin' Fushia, says zone10a-11, but have had x 3 years and in large pot and it's very happy!

Love the salvias! So dependable! My favorites are Rockin playin the Blues and Mystic Spires. Both come back for me in atlanta zone 7b.

Great informative video. I tried the Pineapple Sage Salvia this year and couldn't understand why I wasn't getting blooms. So excited to know they are still coming. Can't wait! Good to know about all the different varieties.

The salvias are beautiful! I have several perennials and some annuals that readily reseed. Garden workhorses! Next year I hope to add some of the skyscraper series.

Salvia is one of my favorite plants for every month! All time favorite variety is Wendy’s Wish. I’m in zone 6b and in the fall, I cut them back hard, put them in pots in my garage and forget about them until March when I will start watering them a bit and they all come back!

Salvia 'Phyllis Fancy' is flowering now. Phil is a big girl now waving long wands of smoky purple flower spikes at passing hummingbirds, who happily hover about her. Ms Fancy flowers until frost. Not invasive or aggressive. She stands in the back row,

I loved growing salvias when I was a grower at the garden center. My first favorite was Black and Blue, a h-bird magnet. Mine have come back every year in NW Ohio (6A) for years. Roman Red is an awesome true red. Mystic Spires is a blooming fool. There is a lighter blue variety this year but I can't remember the name. Pineapple Sage smells SO GOOD and the flowers are just a great extra. Great, great plants.

I'm in Pensacola area and love Indigo Mist . Indigo Spires gets too big for me . Love that dependable blue .

"""Your videos are not only beautiful in terms of content but also in how you edit them ! keep sharing the awesome videos."🌹🌹🌹

Love salvias. I grew a Peruvian sage from seed that has dark purple flowers and silver foliage. Grows up to 4 feet. Tender perennial in our area. Love your collection.

Salvia is my favorite plant

Thanks Jim. 🌺💚🙃

7b near Atlanta, and the only salvias that I can reliably grow are guaranitica and greggi. The rest don't seem to tolerate our humidity and turn black soon after the dry April/May period. Thank goodness for guaranitica...the hummingbirds fight over them!

love salvias they bloom all year here in Central FL, i have two that are 4 x 4 i like to trim them every 2 months just to keep them low and spread a bit more and mix them in with my fire spikes which i also have in containers. if you have a chance to get some red fire spikes but not in full sun filtered preferably so they dont wilt. Jim get one just keep em warm in the winter months. a large or medium planter is fine. hummers love them as well.

For our Wisconsin hummingbird garden, Salvia 'Amistad' is a true winner and brings in hummingbirds all season long. Tall and long blooming with vibrant purple flowers in dark calyces and no deadheading, it is a true winner in our garden. We dig up the roots in late fall and store them in a black plastic garbage bag in our minimally heated sun room and plant in the spring and they grow 6 feet tall. We would highly recommend this beautiful salvia for anyone and who can resist a plant with the common name of "Friendship Sage"?

I have grown (annual here) Bee Haven (mix of colors) and Coral Nymph for the last two years. I have started them from seed both years, and plant them along a 120 ft section of fence in the front yard. Pollinators love them, but my Anise Hyssop (agastache) has them beat for being a pollinator magnet. I also have many other salvias in the yard, including a 25 ft section of May Knight, Black & Blue (hummingbird favorite), some Hot Lips and a few other perennial varieties that I have forgotten then name of at the moment. I try to have salvias that bloom at different times of the year.

I have/had a fairly big and rare collection here in Sarasota 9b. I took a week vacation and had a mealy bug infestation that just took salvias. Heartbreaking. Weird because it was both in the front and back gardens. I’m hoping root stock is there and they’ll come back with a little temp drop. By far my favorite species in my garden.

Very helpful video, thank you both

BEAUTIFUL ❤

I really love all salvias and sages. I have an autumn sage that has gotten a rather woody base. Can I prune down into that or are they like lavender where you shouldn’t cut into the wood? I have a variegated sage that I really love, although it’s never bloomed.

Love all salvias, but I guess my #1 is the Black & Blue salvia. It grows 3-4 ft tall and never stops blooming in my garden, zone 8b San Antonio area. #2 on my list is the Mystic Spires which is covered with bumble and honey bees all day long. We have a lot of deer pressure in our neighborhood and I know the deer will walk right past it. Win win!

I was hoping you’d drop a salvia video soon. I just cut all mine back too hard, but they’re just starting to re-flower after a month or so. “Hot lips” are good, but having trouble getting lots of flowers from “black and blue”

I am absolutely obsessed with salvias, although the perennial kind that I buy in pots that typically have purple flower stalks that you’re supposed to mow down to have it re-bloom again, I don’t find that I really like the smell of it. I did buy a couple varieties, and I want to see if I can save seed from them, as I believe one that surprised me was from seed that I never planted. I have been able to find a few seeds in some of the varieties and surprisingly the proven winners fuchsia one, I am trying to germinate them and see what they turn into but honestly, even if it doesn’t come up same as the parent plant I love salvias so it’s better than keeping them as cuttings over the winter.

I agree, salvia is awesome! Thanks for the beautiful video. One question, I recently rewatched your 3 year old visit to NCSU’s rain garden and you mentioned you would be installing one soon. Did I miss that installation or did you change your mind? Thanks and I can’t wait to see all the updates on your house and property.

I suggest you try growing Salvia BODACIOUS Hummingbird Falls. Great container salvia, ground cover or even for hanging baskets because of its growth pattern. It is a Salvia x guaranitica variety with large saturated dark cobalt blue blooms with striking black calyxes similar to Black and Blue salvia. It only grows around 12 to 24 inches high and can spread from 18 to 36 inches and produces many flowers. A true hummingbird magnet.

I love my Bedder Blue Salvia, so do the bees and butterflies 🎉 zone 7b Leeds AL

It's slow to germinate, but Summer Jewel saliva REALLY comes back every year from seed for me. Almost makes me a little nervous about what it might do out in the wild. Zone 8a with sandy soil in SC.

Love my Rose marvel and New dimensions blue salvia

May night is favorite salvia

What a great video! In the future, can you share videos on how and when you trim the salvia? I love them, honestly the best plant for us here in zone 9. But I’m always so scared of pruning then and don’t know how to do it or when to do it. I’d really like to see how to prune them. It would be greatly appreciated!

Salvia involucrata Bethelii is my favorite.

I love salvias and added several new varieties this year. They aren't hardy in 6b but I'm going to try to pot and over winter them. Black and Blue is my all time favorite. I always grow it in a pot. Coral Nymph is a reliable self seeder for me. I've had it for years and will not do without it. The seedlings are easy to transplant if necessary.

@GardenKath

10 ай бұрын

Ooo, that’s good to know about Coral Nymph. I’m in 6a, so we’ll see what happens.

@bethlynch1909

10 ай бұрын

@@GardenKath make sure you don't add compost or mulch next spring before it sprouts. They need light to germinate.

Very interesting . I had mixed results with salvia this year. I am in 6b and Black and Blue unexpectedly came back for me (and also reseeded) although it is a 7-10 plant-- I am going to be interested in watching what happens to this little patch over this next winter. I have been buying Amistad and Brazilian Blue plants (also 7-10 guaraniticas I believe, but anyway not 6b) mail order and they have always grown and bloomed like crazy but not this year -- I still don't have a single flower and the plants are not very vigorous. Not dying, just sitting there. I am mystified as they are in the same spots they liked in previous years -- maybe our dry spring followed by very rainy July??? Bad seedlings??? I also grow lots of the hardier types -- such great plants! I hope to try more of the annual types from seed next year -- salvia farinacea just keeps blooming so is very nice to provide color during periods when the perennials are in transition.

@sueprovostwilliams3824

10 ай бұрын

I’ve had this one come back for years. It’s kind of a beadt

My favorite is AMISTAD!. Amante is wonderful but not very hardy. AMIGO is more hardy but runs a bit as does purple and bloom. Constant hummingbird attention

Can’t beat salvia coccinea for pollinators. So easy too.

I have several different varieties of salvia but Greggii is my favorite. After I prune them in the spring, I don't have to do anything else to ithem and they bloom like crazy. I'm trying black and blue and both of those skyscrappers this year. The tags said they were annuals so I'm excited to learn that they could come back like yours. I have them in pots so should I put them in the ground this fall?

Salvia Black and Blue.

I need some white perennial salvia!!!! 🤍🤍🤍 my butterflies are loving my pink zinnias garden tho lol I have a hummingbird that comes to visit everyday at 3 🤣🤣🤣 he loves supertunias 🤣🤣🤣

Salvia patens “Gentian Sage” for the color.

I had a group of 3 called "black and blue" which is probably the same that you featured. I hoped to get a big clump with the 3 plants to fill a big space but 2 of the 3 didn't make it thru winter. Do you recon the 2 were different or perhaps they just hadn't had the time to get established enough to come back??? I took the one that came back well, and bent down 4 stalks and tried air layering off that one plant. It doesn't look great for now but maybe next year I will get a big patch of the "more hardy" plant ,,,,,"black & blue". Maybe???

For Jim or anyone else reading the comments to this video, what kind of spacing do you recommend for the Mystic Spires Blue Salvia? I've seen recommendations for 12-18" apart as a bedding plant, and I've also seen recommendations for 2-3' apart (making sure they weren't talking about the older, pre-2018 version). Such a wide range of suggestion.

Jim, The local nursery's have a very few shrubs & trees I want but it's too early to plant here in zone 6B. Since the nursery's successfully keep these plants healthy during august and into the fall...can I go ahead & buy them now & keep them well watered, & out of direct sun, staying healthy until I'm ready to plant in fall? Is the heat around the outside of the containers damaging?

Love salvias , one I like is hot lips ..and yes it looks like the name..lol. Curious you have any evening or night blooming plants Thanks for another great episode

Jim, what is that purple potted tree in front of you?

Black and Blue! Absolutely no. One salvia. 4.5 ft tall up til November! I love it so much I bought 20 or 30 more this summer. The 4 i had all coming back but 4/29/24 they are just little green leaves poking up in 8b pnw....they overwinter in ground but just in case they didn't I got tons more, and trying other tall ones too! Can't wait to see how they all do. My new salvia i got from a nursery the leaves keep getting black spots on them and some branches falling off! Otherwise they look good. Do u know what would cause that. ? Im thinking its my very dense compost soil stays too wet but not sure...

What's the secret to getting them thru the Winter?

Any tips for a salvia that keeps flopping? I'm in zone 5 and it's perennial purple blooming (unsure of variety). I just planted it last year. I tried cutting it down by half, it flushed back and flopped. Should I divide already?

I'm in Zone 7, with lots of deer. I need a tall salvia so I don't see my neighbor and I want plenty of Hummingbirds to come. What one would you recommend?

May Night

Of August!!!! How about all summer!!!! (+Verbena and million bells)

🎋MY WHITE SALVIAS🎋

There are your white wedding hydrangeas, aren’t they 🎉

Enh, rabbits will eat just about anything. I had annual salvia that got completely mowed down by the local rabbits. Thankfully, I moved and now I have zero rabbits. 😂

How much Sun is optimal for Salvia?