All the Dirt on Gardening

This particular Salvia has been in our garden for four years. It never really took off like the one in the catalog, but it soldiers on, blooming spring, summer and fall - even past our first frosty nights.   Said to be cold hardy in zones 8 to 10, Hot Lips does reasonably well in our zone 7 since it is protected by close neighbors - A climbing Euonymus on the east fence behind it and an exuberant Lantana on it's west side. In the heat of the summer the sparse flowers are mostly white. Like all Salvias, the scent keeps most predators such as deer at a distance. Salvia microphylla Sage Hot Lips   Plant Delights Nursery offers them in their online catalog at www.plantdelights.com . The catalog says it "was introduced by Richard Turner of California after the plant was shared with him by his maid, who brought it from her home in Mexico. The fast-growing, 30" tall x 6' wide clump is adorned with stunning bicolor flowers with red tips and white lips......

Mountain Valley Growers California Sunset Salvia is one of the pink flowering sages for sunny, dry spots. And, it's one I don't have yet though it is on the wish list for sure. unlike many sages, this one maxes out at 2 feet tall. It's cold hardy in zones 7 to 11, which means a mild winter here since we are just zone 7.  To play it safe I usually take cuttings of all my zone 7 hardy sages in the fall so the next spring when I'm plant shopping I don't have to replace those and can add to my collection. Mountain Valley Growers has 32 sage varieties - whose photo this is - It is a company I've had good luck with in the past. They sell this one $4.95 for a 3-inch pot, plus shipping of course. Plant Delights offers the same salvia for $12.00 though I looked throughout their webpage and can't get any information on the size of the pot or plant they are offering. My assumption is that it must be larger than Mountain Valley's. Their catalog says, ...

Loggee's Greenhouse is offering Hot Lips Salvia plants and if you have never grown it, take a look. The photo is from their site. The first time we saw Hot Lips, it was blooming its head off last fall at the Tulsa Zoo. We had to have it. Blossom's Garden Center in Muskogee had the plants and we put in two. This year's weather was somewhat un-summer-like. Other than July, we had rain, rain, and more rain. So, our Hot Lips is just now doing its blooming best. But, it was about this time of year we saw them blooming beautifully at the zoo, too. So maybe fall is their time to shine. Plant Delights says Hot Lips was discovered in Mexico and that they are hardy to our zone 7. "This wild selection of the Mexican Salvia microphylla was introduced by Richard Turner of California after the plant was shared with him by his maid, who brought it from her home in Mexico. The fast-growing, 30" tall x 6' wide clump is adorned with stunning bicolor flowers with red t...