It looks ;like Salvia farinacea, Mealycup Sage.

possibly s. farinacea Victoria Blue

It's hard to tell. I looked at SF and while it's similar to the one above I don't think that's it. The spikes on the picture above are more on the slender side.

I just want a nice looking Salvia that grows tall and blooms all summer in the heat and full sun. I've grown some before but it was so short. lol

Looks like S. farinacea to me. There are many cultivars. Hazzard's seeds has quite a few for sale.

Since your salvia was too short in the past, I 'm wondering if you purchased annual bedding salvia at your garden center. You want a perennial.

“You want a perennial.”

There are plenty of annual (or tender perennial) Salvias that grow much taller than the typical hardy perennial S. nemorosa types.

Perennial does not automatically = larger.

Perennial salvias tend to bloom only once with perhaps sporadic re-bloom here and there, whereas annual salvias will bloom their fool heads off all summer long. There are indeed taller varieties of annual salvia. As I mentioned above, Hazzard's has a nice variety from which to choose.

It can be tough to narrow down exact salvia varieties; I’d take that picture to a local nursery to see if they know.

My guess is ’Mystic Spires’ . But just a guess.

Another great border plant for us in Ok and Tx is Speedwell. Mine usually blooms more in our mid to late summer heat than salvia … which tends to go somewhat dormant in the highest of our temps.

https://plants.tlcgarden.com/12170006/Plant/3189/Sunny_Border_Blue_Speedwell

https://www.gardenia.net/plant-variety/veronica-longifolia-speedwell

(I’m not suggesting using this instead of salvia, but in addition to.)

This I-can’t-remember-which salvia in my back bed gets to three feet … a bit leggy because it’s in part shade. I think it’s ’Mealy Sage’ or ’Indigo Spires’. I got it at Lowe’s years ago and those and ’Greggii’ are pretty much all they carry. :D

Another thought: the OP is in Oklahoma thus her soil may be red clay. DIL's bed is fantastic, does she have great native soil or has she improved it? OP may need to lighten her soil to get similar results.

"My guess is ’Mystic Spires’ . But just a guess."

That is not Mystic Spires. I grow MS every year, and it does not look like that in flower color or foliage.

Bad guess then. Sorry, Oak!

”Perennial salvias tend to bloom only once with perhaps sporadic re-bloom here and there,”

Not greggiis. I grow them every year, they bloom constantly (only slowing down in the worst of our heat).

LOTS of perennial salvias will bloom all summer long. But only a handful would be fully perennial in a zone 7.

"LOTS of perennial salvias will bloom all summer long."

Not up here they don't. At least none that I've ever seen. But, what we consider annuals up here are perennials elsewhere, so...

Salvia guaranitica, microphylla, greggii, jamensis, leucantha all bloom all season long or until first frost. Some will even ignore a frost :-) Even S. nemerosa 'Caradonna' has an all summer bloom season here.

Some of these will overwinter successfully in zone 7 and some would need to be lifted and stored or cuttings taken.

A perennial is a perennial anywhere it is grown....even though it might get treated like an annual or not winter over in colder areas.

^^ Which is pretty much what I said. LOL! :0)

Regardless, OP's pic looks like some sort of S. farinacea to me.

Beautiful flowerbeds! Let me know how your salvia hunt goes … I’m going to look for some new ones, too, for a bed I expanded. :)

If I don't make it to TLC, is there a good online nursery to buy Salvia? Hey, maybe QVC will have some. Everything I've bought from them thrived! LOL

Cottage Farms. That's what QVC sell.

Oakley -- that flower bed is lovely! I adore zinnias, so bright and cheerful and non-stop bloomin' machines.

Thanks mx. They grow like weeds! Actually, they grow faster than weeds so no need to weed the flowerbed. Not kidding! :)

It may be "May Night". I grew that one year and it looked very similar. Perenial and bloomed all summer.

Sherry, I looked up May Night and boy is it pretty! Except the leaves in the picture above and the leaves on the pictures I found online of May Night are different.

So far I like May Night the best and I'll see how it grows here in hot OK. Thank you!

Nice zinnias, Oakley! I bet they attracted lots of bees and butterflies. So there's certainly no problem with your soil. Good luck searching for your salvia.

This is the winner! Cecily, I think I found it. Notice how the spikes are narrow like the one in my picture. Now I need to find a good place to order it. I live in a rural area and I can't count on our local greenhouse to carry it.

I dunno, my May Night is much darker than your DIL's salvia. Also, it only blooms for about six weeks. It's a gorgeous plant but I don't think it's your dream salvia.

Nope, it is not May Night salvia. Thisis May Night:

The color of your DIL's blooms isn't even close to the rich, saturated purple of May Night.

Sorry, I should've been clearer. The winner means that's the one I want to plant.

i have nothing to add to the salvia question, but your DIL’s garden is beautiful !!!!

I agree, what a beautiful border!

The salvia in the og photo is 100% a salvia farinacea. they are several diff named varieties. These are fairly reliably perennial for me in 7b, bloom constantly, but are prone to powdery mildew if crowded. Thats a beautiful border, op!

Thanks, Katherine.

Mxk, the picture of DIL's Salvia was taken in the cool almost cold Fall, they were a much bolder purple.

Looks like mealycup salvia - an annual. I grew this one last year from a 6 pack purchased at our local nursery. It bloomed all through garden season and only stopped after it was zapped by frost. It was very tall. This year, I'm going to grow it from seed. Save some $$$.

Mealy Cup Salvia is S farinacea, which is the name already given. It is a perennial, although it may die in regions with cold winters.