She’ll grow best and produce the most flowers if you put her somewhere sunny. She’ll be ok in partial shade.
She copes really well with drought, so you can go light on the watering. Best not to let her dry out entirely.
Snip off flowers when they wilt (this is known as ‘deadheading’). This will encourage her to replace them with new ones.
Botanical name
Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips’
Nickname
Baby sage; Graham’s sage; Blackcurrant sage
Plant type
Perennial
Plant height (including pot)
40-50cm
Pet/Baby safe?
Yes
Nursery pot size
17cm
Salvias come in an enormous range of colours and sizes - there are over 900 species - and are found all over the world. They’re one of the most hard-working flowers you’ll find, producing blooms from early summer right into early winter. This variety is known as ‘Hot Lips’ because of its lipstick-red flowers.
Salvias can live happily in almost any outdoor space, as long as it’s not fully shady. They don’t mind a stiff breeze, so they’re good for balconies. They thrive in dry conditions, so don’t need much watering and will be really happy in full sun. There’s really not a lot of attention required.
Once your plant has finished flowering, hopefully as late as December, it will die back a little. Prune it back almost to the soil in early spring. This will encourage it to add lots of new growth, then lots of new flowers, as the weather warms up.
Did you know?
The best-known variety of salvia is edible sage, the kind you find in supermarkets and add to stuffing.
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