SALVIA. Sage. Worldwide. This is a huge and diverse group of mint allies, grown both for ornament and for herbal qualities. Those listed below are undemanding perennials and shrubs with usually rough-textured, aromatic leaves. Some form broad rosettes of basal leaves; others have branched, leafy stems. Usually the leaves are paired along the stems. Irregular 2-lipped flowers are borne in dense heads, whorls or spikes above the foliage. They come in nearly every floral shade, including near-black. Culture and hardiness vary widely, though most prefer a sunny spot with well drained soil. Many, particularly natives of California and the Southwest, are drought tolerant.
gesneriiflora ‘Tequila’. A robust shrub, growing 8' tall or more. It has bright, nearly chartreuse stems and foliage. The leaves are large, nearly heart shaped and felted with fine hairs. It blooms mostly during the cooler months, carrying clusters of 2½" blossoms at the shoot tips. The tube is scarlet, making a striking contrast with a nearly black calyx. Damaged at 25o but it has recovered quickly after bouts of 20oF or less.
microphylla. This species is part of a botanical complex with S. greggii, S. muelleri and S. coahuilensis. Distinguishing them sometimes requires a trained botanist, though each has many beautiful forms. This one, which is found from southern Arizona to southern Mexico, is extremely variable. It is a profusely branched shrub with slender young stems and usually small, flat, green leaves. The flowers are of variable size, up to perhaps 1" long and broad, much like those of S. greggii in form, and borne most of the year in loose clusters at the shoot tips. Colors range from white to intense violet, rose pink and fire engine red. We offer most of these at one time or another, simply under their color names. Most forms are easily grown and drought tolerant, though their hardiness varies considerably.
ssp. (var.?) grahami (S. grahami). While botanists debate the “true” identity of this complex entity, we can simply appreciate its ornamental features. The plants are usually quite full, with relatively broad leaves of variable size. Our original offering is round and about as dense as a salvia can be, with bright green leaves and brilliant red flowers, borne mostly in midsummer. 20oF. or less.
var. neurepia (“deltoid leaf form” in previous editions of this guide). One of the showiest, toughest and longest lived of the southwestern salvias. The unnamed selection at hand is a nearly round to spreading shrub, growing 3-5’ tall and a little more openly branched than S. greggii. It has broad, conspicuously angled and toothed leaves and bears a continual succession of large, bright red blossoms. My own home plant has never been out of bloom. 10oF. or less.
‘San Carlos Festival’. Introduced several years ago by Yucca Do Nursery, this is an outstanding ornamental selection. It is a thick dome, 2-3' high and perhaps twice that in breadth, with broad, slightly grey-green leaves. The large magenta flowers decorate the plant much of the year. Probably 15oF or less.