SHRUBS > SALVIA

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SALVIA GUIDES

panoramic view of purple salvia flowers

Common ProblemsContainer GrowingCuttings PropagationDeadheadingDivisionHarvestingOverwinteringPlantingPruningVarieties – Hot Lips – Common Sage – Pink Varieties – Woodland Sage

Whether you are school an comestible landscape painting , or a purely ornamental one , Salvias can be dear choices for many gardens .

From well - know culinary sage , to pretty flowering salvias in a range of colours , this genus provides many options for UK gardener .

green Salvia branch

S. officinalis

For these salvia guides , we ’ve partnered with :

“ Salvias are various plants that are generally easy to grow in most soils , ” aver Lyndi .

“ They have long - flowering time and follow in a mixture of colours . ”

elderly gardener picking sage leaves and placing them in a small wicker basket

This is such a broad - ranging genus that there is no path to cover them all in just one guide .

However , to serve you get started with choosing Salvias , we ’ve uprise this exploration of some of the different type of Salvia you might wish to grow , along with some fear and growing tips to serve you school them successfully .

Overview

PreferredFull Sun / Light Shade

ExposureSheltered

Height0.5 – 1 thou

large bumblebee harvesting pollen from upright purple flowering stems of salvia

Spread0.5 – 1 chiliad

Bloom TimeJune – October

PreferredClay , Loam

flowerbed with meadow sage

S. nemorosa

MoistureMoist but well drained

pHAny

Salvia really belongs to the Lamiaceae ( Mint ) family.1Salvia . ( n.d . ) . Kew Royal Botanic Gardens . Retrieved March 24 , 2023 , fromhttps://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30000096-2

red-flowering Salvia Splendens in a ceramic outdoor container

Commonly referred to as ‘ sage ’ , this is one of a number of genera referred to in this way .

It admit the common culinary herbaceous plant sage , as well as a compass of other eatable and ornamental type .

Why Grow Salvias?

“ I can not walk retiring sage without buying one , ” part Kate Gould , honour - winning garden designer .

“ I do n’t know why . I make a beeline for them whenever I ’m in a garden – they ’re my kryptonite . ”

Here are some reasons that you might uprise salvia .

cottage garden with sea holly, poppies and salvia growing as companion plants

Salvias might supply an edible return – and choosing those which do supply something of time value to you could facilitate you make the most of the place available to you .

Whether or not they are utilitarian to human gardeners – all salvias can be good for wildlife with which you share your space .

salvia have beautiful heyday that are beloved by a kitchen range of central pollinator like bees , order Lepidoptera and other good insects .

gardener watering a small purple-flowering Salvia with a steel watering can

They often also blossom over a relatively long period .

Of of course , since they pull in pollinator and boost biodiversity , work wildlife also bring value for you , as a nurseryman – bang-up biodiversity brings dandy constancy , making your garden more resilient .

This makes it easier to garden in an organic , eco - well-disposed elbow room – and of course of study assure there are passel of pollinator around can assure unspoilt take of fruits etc . that you naturalize in your garden .

There is of course of instruction a pot of variety , though most Salvia will bloom between June and October .

Choosing several unlike form could mean that there is mint of nectar around for insects to enjoy in your garden throughout the summer and , with sure varieties , well into the autumn too .

The blooming period of salvia also entail they add ocular ingathering in a garden over a foresighted period .

“ The flowering period can vary from a few weeks to all year round , ” say Lyndi .

Salvias are relatively soft to develop , and are unremarkably rarely bothered by problem with pests or diseases .

This can make them adept choices ( especially hardy kind ) for a grim - maintenance garden that wo n’t take much body of work .

How To Grow Salvia

All Salvia will tend to do well in full sun , and will thrive with a south - facing aspect , but there are also several types that can grapple with dappled or fond specter .

In term of soil type , there are Salvia beseem to a range of conditions , though they will do good in free - drain condition and most will shinny in areas with sullen Henry Clay .

“ If you exist on a great , cold cadaver , you must contain pile of gritrock into your planting hole , ” says Vicki .

Many variety can deal with drought , so can be part of xeriscaping programme , and will cope quite well in free - draining dirt even when they are poor and relatively down in the mouth in nutrient .

Salvias can be useful plants not only in poor territory and dry areas – they can also be utile in coastal gardens , and other berth that can be tricky for many other plant life .

“ Some salvia like the specter , others prefer the sunshine , so you’re able to normally encounter a salvia for any place in the garden , ” Lyndi allege .

In terms of aesthetics , Salvia can work well in many garden scheme , from the sunny fringes of a realistic woodland or forest garden , to a kitchen or herbaceous plant garden , to gardens with an exotic , or tropical , feel .

They can also expect good in - amongst wild flower and ornamental grasses in a sunny border .

However , though some hardy varieties can remain in the garden over the wintertime months , it is of import to recognise that tender types are best grown in containers .

Growing tender Salvias in pots means that you will easily be capable to move them under cover before the first Robert Frost in your region .

Salvia Plant Care

How much and on the nose what fear they will demand look on which varieties you have chosen to grow .

However , generally speaking , these are relatively crushed - alimony and hassle - loose plants .

Under - watering is usually less of a problem with Salvias than over - tearing , specially where drainage is less than optional – so less is commonly more .

“ pee until set up and when we have one of our seemingly much more frequent overheating summer moments , ” say Vicki .

Salvias produce in the earth will typically not ask any feeding at all , but Lyndi does advocate mulching : “ you may on a regular basis feed your salvias to keep them goodly . If they ’re growing in the ground , mulch well to keep the root area cool . ”

However , if you grow them in containers , it could be a good mind to feeda potassium hydroxide - rich ‘ tomato feed ’ type organic liquid fertiliserin the summer months .

If you are growing annual varietals , at the final stage of the season you will lift them and put them on your compost heap prior to the first frost .

References