Most herbs like lean soil. Perhaps you've been too good to them.

but,,, why would bicolor sage (salvia) be considered an herb?

Are you referring to Salvia bicolor Sessé et Moc. of Mexico: Vera Cruz, Tlaxcala, Mexico, Morelos, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, or of the one from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia better known as Salvia barrelieri? The first requires a subtropical, humusy environment, and the latter a cooler, loamy soil with drainage.

I was assuming (sorry about that) that rembetika was referring to a varigated form of S. officinalis..... culinary Sage.

westelle, no problem.. :) and actually i do have regular culinary sage in a different spot in crappy soil, and it looks pretty good.

the one i'm referring to is Salvia sinaloensis
http://www.magnoliagardensnursery.com/productdescrip/Salvia-Bicolor.html

the blooms looked so beautiful when i bought it, and after planting, they all just went away, never to come back.
the spot gets some pretty intense afternoon sunlight.

Salvia sinaloensis is a late bloomer, usually once a year. If it is forming a clump, and the foliage is a rich burgundy, it should be happy. It makes a tricky pot plant and can die if the roots are too wet and cold during the winter. I would give it moderate humus, loose soil, and not too much nitrogen when it is in semi dormancy.

it's not forming a clump, it's spread out and pretty flat.
does it take a year or so to get established & put down roots before it really starts to bloom?

it's not forming a clump, it's spread out and pretty flat.
does it take a year or so to get established & put down roots before it really starts to bloom?

It is not a great plant here in Austin. It does not like the extremes of heat and cold. If you "pamper" it with regular water, rich well draining soil and even fertilize it, it can bloom on and off. It prefers morning sun and late day shade here. It never looks like what it looks like in coastal CA or other milder climates.

Good Luck.

rembetika

All 900+ varieties of sages/salvias are considered herbs. An herb doesn't have to be only a culinary herb.

Anyway, I agree with John that it is not a great plant to try to grow in Texas. It is supposed to be a Plant for Texas, but I have never managed to get it to do anything down here on the coast. I believe that it is because of the combined high heat and high humidity. I have always planted them, along with the Tricolor sage in raised beds, but they just die out as soon as it gets really hot and humid.

You might just want to grow it as an annual cool-weather herb and try to forget growing them as a perennial.

Yesterday, I bought a one gallon pot of Salvia sinaloensis because it was 25% off, and I figured "What do I have to lose?"

I've been doing a little research about them, and even though the tag says full to partial shade, from what I've been reading about those planted in Texas is that they do better in partial shade. Especially, shade during the afternoons, so I'm going to try that and see what happens.

When you plant it, make sure it has good drainage. If you see short stolons (runners) with new growth popping out around the perimiter of the pot and lots of new, light-colored roots at the edge, you will have a better chance of it taking. For a plant in a 1 gallon container, there should at least be a mutitude of shoots in the pot, indicating it is forming a clump. This is good advice for any of the stoloniferous sages like S. buchananii, S. glechomiifolia, and S. blepharophylla.

Rich,

Thank you for the information. I will make good use of it.

ltcollins, i did not realize that these salvias were also considered herbs- thanks for the info!
and you are right, even though it's on that list it doesn't seem to be completely happy here in TX (at least not in my plot)... it was wilting every day in the summer, and a large part of the plants wilted in the frost (even with a blanket over). it'll be interesting to see if any flowers come back this spring, maybe it will be well-rooted enough to give some blooms... if not, i'll maybe move it into deeper shade, or something.

OK, an update... the frost killed parts of the plants that weren't covered, so i cut those parts back.. but the parts that didn't die are looking healthier & more robust than ever. i think we may see some blooms this spring....?? they probably just needed a few months of cool weather to settle in... (although most of our winter was in the 80's!)

Bicolor sage does work in Austin, however shade to part shade, and it will bloom in the shade. It takes a while to get established, especially right after you remove it from a pot, it goes into shock. Instead of investing in reproducing its investing its energy in growing roots. If you planted it in the summer, most likely it was too hot, and it seems like when plants go in the summer, they really may or may not make it because the ground may be too hot, and it might not grow well until the next spring. That being said, do you have an irrigation system installed is my other question.

Thanks everyone for great comments. I just purchased 2 to plant in a full sun bed, thanks to your comments, I will now be planting them in morning sun afternoon shade. Hope they do well here in Waco, Texas.