Gorgeous combinations there Rouge.I am feeling inspired...and somewhat puzzled. I have to own up to a baffling neglect of hardier sages .I think I have 1 nameless caradonna type (and hyssop, rosemary and such)...plus annual clary and a couple of non-flowering culinary sort. I really don't know why I grew so few - I concentrated on lavenders and nepeta but I hope to remedy this lack next season (I have some farinacea growing from seeds but have never been very successful with mealy sage.Where should I start, do you think?

Mmm, I realise this thread is about TENDER salvias...but still.

Thanks rouge! Actually it's funny you posted this, because I saw that this thread had been updated, thought, I should read through the whole thing to refresh my memory, saw my question above, and then thought, hmm, I don't think I ever got an answer! Lol, I scroll down and here it is. And what an answer! I am definitely putting Unplugged So Blue on my list. The color is lovely and I like the longer flower stalks.

Despite their shorter-than-expected stalks, I have come to really like my Big Blue. Even with the shorter blooms there is still good height on the plant itself, and I do like the darker color. Best of all, it is an absolute pollinator magnet. The swath of salvia is a living, breathing buzzing thing of beauty, even this late in the season. Perhaps *because* it is late in the season and these are still going strong while other blooms have faded. I just stand out there and watch - and marvel at how my knowledge of bees is so limited lol. I've never seen so many kinds of them, and that doesn't even count the other insects doing their thing on the salvia. I will have to start taking pics and doing some research to brush up on my knowledge of pollinators.

:)

Dee

It's good to hear that your Amistad made it through the winter Rouge. I think that one has a reputation for getting very large unless I'm thinking of a different one. My Purple & Bloom made it through the winter last year (with leaves and a plastic bag over it). It grew to at least four foot across this summer and might have been bigger if it weren't for wind damage that broke off some large sections. I stuck several pieces in a five gallon bucket of old potting soil and several of them rooted even with my neglect. Even more surprising was how quickly the cuttings were blooming.

I don't know which salvias form rhizomes besides Black and Blue but with that one, I suspect that those rhizomes are getting tucked under my shrub roots and are a bit protected in the winter from the heat that the roots are giving off. I can't get them to survive out in the open without protection but the ones close to my shrubs come back year after year without any.

My cuttings of "Mystic Spires" have rooted, I'm happy about that, I can generate my stock for next season. I've noticed they're a snap to root in the fall but struggle over the winter months under the lights. I've always wondered why, but I've learned to take more cuttings than I need from the mothers because I know I will have failures when growing the spring crop.

My "Mystic Spires" are still blooming their fool heads off here in late October, even though we've had a couple good frosts. They're up by the house, so more protected. My lone "Black and Blue" still looks nice and healthy but not blooming. I might leave the B&B in place and mulch it well just to see what happens with it over winter.

@HU-618169007 I just tried 'Phyllis' Fancy' for the first time this year without getting my hopes up, since S. leucantha types usually start blooming far too late into the fall around here to be worth it, but 'Phyllis' has been a resounding success! From a single-stem plug planted in May, it has now lept up to about 5' tall by 4' wide, and has been covered in blooms since mid August!

It also hasn't been fazed by the few light frosts we've had, although we're well behind schedule for a hard freeze this fall and it's nearly 80F today on Halloween, so lots of the tender perennials and hardier annuals are hanging on just fine.

@sah_upstate4 (zone 5b - NY), thanks for posting a picture of 'Camps' salvia ;). I would love to give it a go with its wonderful flower colour but it is just too big for any full sun location we have :(. I will need to muse about this plant this off season.

I think the lowest we have seen so far is -3C but even so, "Unplugged So Blue" is looking good enough. Here it is on November 16:

^^ Mine are still blooming, too -- looking at little bedraggled after the heavy frosts, but looking good nonetheless under the circumstances. Mine are up by the house, which does protect them somewhat. I do have to take the last of them out, need to get things cleaned up. My cuttings took hold, so their offspring will continue on next year. :0)

I had mystic spires one year. Found them at a place that sells a few plants and it’s usually nothing good. I got these when I first started gardening and was surprised how well they did. Haven’t seen them locally since. Just tried finding somewhere to buy them as plugs online with no luck. I’d love to get a bunch of them this year.

mystic spires is my favorite salvia. It had overwintered in our garden for a few years until last year. It got so big I had to move it to a different location in the fall. It did not come back this spring. Luckily I found one in a local nursery today.

I also got a ROCKIN® Fuchsia Salvia today. It is an annual in our area but I will try to protect it heavily and see if it can make it over the winter

I am still trying to find my favourite Salvia ’Black and Blue’. Or any other tall guaranitica. They used to be everywhere, but I guess they have been superseded by their more compact cousins. But I don’t do compact, I want the tall ones. Coles in Grimsby usually had it or something similar, plus a lovely Salvia patens. But Coles is gone, and so are my salvias.

I love Black and Blue too. It hadn’t done well because i moved it a couple times. This year it finally grows well. I hope you can find one.

I am getting desperate ;-). A helpful lady at a greenhouse checked out some wholesalers in this area who grow Proven Winners plants, but nobody had it. I wish it were hardy here…

I have seen Black & Blue and Mystic Spires at pretty much every nursery I shop in the spring, they're still very popular here.

Not here in Ontario 😢!

A mixed bag with salvias this year. Not at all sure that either corrugata or subrotunda survived the winter while I still have hopes for leucantha (although Phyllis Fancy is up and about. One of the Amistad famly (Amigo?) is looking good in my garden but less so at the allotment. Am pleased to see both my Darcyiis are coming into life while 'Blue Butterflies (sagittae? I don't often grow named varieties, going down teh species seed road) is looking most abundant. Despite hauling a (vast) involucrata out and into the bin, I do spot a few seedlings lurking around (along with echium pinniana which get everywhere). All the greggies/jamensis/microphyllas came through most cheerfully - most are already in bloom.

@gdinieontarioz5, I see heirloom has Black and Blue at $18 after 25% off. But shipping is $19 flat rate

@forever_a_newbie_VA8, thank you for searching! Heirloom Roses? They don’t seem to have any left, the page for it comes up as non-existent. Besides, I am in Canada, so shipping will be whatever Fedex charges, which will not be close to $19, I fear.

Black and Bloom and Purple and Bloom are more common at the nurseries around here rather than Black and Blue. Either of those might be a good alternative if you can't find Black and Blue. Purple and Bloom was a fast grower for me.

I found a ’Rockin’ Deep Purple’ which is supposed to grow to 3’, but I prefer the true blue. Nothing but shorties for that.

@gdinieontarioz5, sorry it is out of stock in heirloom. The page does not say so to me but it does not have an add option. I hope eventually you will get it or a good alternative

Gdinie...you know, this is not a difficult plant to raise from seed. Will flower in it's second year ...even potentially a few blooms in it's first season. I know you have grown seeds before so why not give this a go. Special Plants sells seed which can ship to Canada and I think Jellito also...or try getting someone to save some seeds for you. I would but don't grow guarantica (dunno why, I certainly used to). Fat black seeds which do not need any special treatment - no need to stratify but they will appreciate some bottom heat Totally doable.

@suzy jackson, if I cannot get a plant soon, I will do that I guess. Thanks for the idea. Just never thought of it. I don’t really sow seeds anymore, though I have enough self sowers. Btw, the Hensoll Harebell you sent me just started blooming! I am so happy to have it again! I will take a picture tomorrow, too dark now.

My tender Salvias are having a rough go of it this year thanks to a growing population of tarnished plant bugs (Lygus) in my garden. I started to notice this issue last year on a few of my 'Black and Bloom's where the individual flowers on developing buds would be completely consumed, calyx and all, leaving a just a bare stem with one or two remaining flowers/buds at the tip.

I had hoped it was a one-off, but the the plant bug population definitely seems to have expanded this spring. I have approximately 12-15 guaranitica-type Salvias planted throughout the garden - Black and Bloom, Bodacious Smokey Jazz, Wendy's Wish, Roman Red and Amante - and despite all of them growing well and producing ample foliage, the developing flower buds are being savaged, leaving only a handful of individual flowers on each plant. I also have numerous 'Rockin Deep Purple' and 'Rockin Fuchsia' in containers that are also being attacked to a lesser extent, but the S. farinacea types like 'Mystic Spires', 'Mysty' and 'Playin' the Blues' seem to be mostly ignored by the bugs.

Lygus seems to be most active at night: I've squashed the few I've found during the days, but based on the research I've done on extension sites, there's not much else to be done short of spraying systemics (which I would never consider) and cleaning up debris and weeds to reduce overwintering habitat for the bugs, or just "ignoring" them. One extension source mentioned that heavy rains can be somewhat effective at knocking the bugs off and "reducing their survival", and we are due for some thunderstorms this week so I'll cross my fingers for those!

Since the Salvias are growing well otherwise, I'm hoping the bugs' life cycle will be complete soon and they'll lay off the "premature deadheading" for the the rest of the summer, but I'm sure some will be overwintering and I may just need to take a break from the tender Salvias next year 😩

@Sue Hughes had some photos of the plant bug and her damaged tender Salvias in this thread from a few years back, in case anyone is curious: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2146645/what-is-eating-my-salvia

^^ That is disappointing. I haven't noticed tarnished plant bug damage, fortunately, but unfortunately the four-lined plant bugs did a number on some of my other plants.

@porkchop_z5b_MI We had plenty of the four-lined plant bugs too, but they seem to target foliage only and leave the flower buds alone. Their ”season” also seems to be a bit earlier and more contracted than that of their tarnished cousins.

^^ Yes, its usually May and June and then they're gone. But man they can do some serious damage in that timeframe.

Salvia farinacea "Unplugged So Blue" and new this year "Unplugged White". Both seem about equally vigorous...up to 2 feet by 2 feet. I was worried that with white flowers the spent ones would be too noticeable but it isn't a problem (although I do like the blue better).

Salvia "Lake Baikal" ‘ (part of the Salgoon series)

I like the size and the branching but I have had other salvia with greater 'floriferousness'.

I found a 'Plum Crazy' locally this year. I rarely find more than a couple tender salvias at any nursery around here and they're all the same so it was nice to find a recent introduction. It's doing well and the flowers are showy. It's making a lot of seeds! I find very few seeds on other guaranitica hybrids. Yes I know they won't come true but I've saved some anyway for the sake of adventure. I also saved seeds from a greggii Texas Hardy Pink that successfully made it through a 12 below night on its first winter in my yard here in southwest Missouri.

I had two potted 'Purple and Bloom' plants that made it though the winter by a basement window. I just treated them like houseplants and then put them in the ground in the spring. The huge one from last year that was in the ground didn't come back. I thought since it made it through its first winter in the ground with protection and it had grown so much that it might make it though the second winter without and that didn't work so lesson learned. Twelve below is colder than normal for us so it was a difficult test. My old faithful Black and Blues that I've had for many years came back without protection though.

A couple of my salvias this year had the buds eaten before they bloomed. I suspect Southern Pink Moth. I've had trouble with those before. I sprayed the buds with insecticidal soap. It's what I had on hand and I don't know if it helped. Maybe - they're blooming a little better now.

I also picked up a Plum Crazy this year. More compact and floriferous than my Black and Bloom, Black and Blue, Amante, Armistadt. I am impressed. The plum purple is pretty too. Next year will plant it with Clustered mountain mint and Verbena Bonarensis. I think it will be beautiful!

Thanks to @rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a) I did in the end find some ’Black and Blue’ this year. A neighbour gave me a huge yard waste bag full of pine needles this year, so I plan to try to overwinter them with a good covering of pine needles. It worked for Ajania, maybe it will work for salvias too?!

My ”black and blue” is not very floriferous though it has grown well this year. Enough to attract a lot of hummingbirds though

Mystic Spirel is always reliable in blooming, even though blocked by a huge Mexican torch flower

Mexican sage is considered annual or tender perennial in my area, but it normally comes back reliably

ROCKIN® Fuchsia Salvia is an annual 9-11 but I will try to protect it to see if it can come back

Gdinie - I'd say it's worth the effort to mulch your Black and Blue this winter. I'm a zone warmer than you here but my established Black and Blues make it through our winters just fine even without extra mulch. Our temps are up and down with just a few nights below zero fahrenheit. Last winter our coldest night was 12 below and I was concerned but they returned. A thread somewhere talks about using a pile of leaves and then plastic over that to protect salvias which I did for Purple and Bloom the winter before last with positive results. I haven't tried pine needles.

I know the thread is still for 2024, but it seems a bit late to start a new tender Salvias thread for 2025 now. Hopefully someone will get the jump on it next spring!

As my gardening season winds down after several frosts (although many of the tender Salvias are still going strong and all photos below were taken today), I thought I'd share some feedback on some of the new Salvias I grew this year along with some "old standbys"

As I mentioned in a comment earlier in the spring, most of our tender Salvias were besieged by Tarnished Plant Bugs in the late spring, and while the plants themselves survived fine, all of the developing flower buds at the time were decimated. Thankfully, some of the ones mentioned below developed flowers quite a bit later and were spared the plant bug damage, while others recovered pretty well and managed to put out more blooms later in the summer and into fall.

'Amante' - my first time with this one, and it was pretty similar to PW's 'Rockin Fuchsia', which we've grown in containers. Amante was a very slow starter in the ground and seemed to develop some fungal/leaf-spot issues after a rainy spring, but it "missed out" on the plant bug damage and has started blooming nicely from about early September to the present day. I don't know if I'd grow it again, just purely because of the slow start and foliage issues.

'Bodacious Rhythm and Blues' - advertised as being an "improvement" on Black and Blue/Black and Bloom and developed by the renowned Salvia breeder Kermit Carter (of Flowers by the Sea), it was another slow starter compared to our Black and Blooms, but again, this worked to its advantage as it got spared by the tarnished plant bugs. Once it got going (starting around late July/early August), it really took off, growing rapidly in size and pumping out profuse inflorescences and continuing even as we approach November! It's been totally undamaged by the few light frosts we've had already. I'll definitely give this another shot.

"Black and Bloom' (no pics) - one of the "old standbys", and always a good performer, especially since it starts blooming very early (usually by the first or second week of June) even with our late, cold springs in upstate NY. It survived the plant bug munching and recovered fairly well, but it has definitely "petered out" since late September or so, and the remaining blooms are somewhat sparse.

All the S. guaranitica types needed quite a big of supplemental watering in our late summer/early fall drought, but I was happy to do it given the performance they put on and the fact that they're still looking great even in late October!

For S. farinacea/longspicata types, I gave 'Big Blue' one more shot, even though it's mostly been a disappointment in years past. This is probably the "best" it's ever done for us, but it still was very late to bloom and also very slow to put on any size, especially compared to long-time favorites like 'Mystic Spires' and the more compact 'Mysty.' The blooms didn't start appearing until mid-to-late August, and while they look "okay" now, both Mystic Spires and Mysty started blooming much earlier (in mid-to-late June) and grew much more impressively. I think this is my last go-around with 'Big Blue.'

I've only ever grown the 'Skyscraper' series in containers previously, where they work well as a more compact option, but I had a space for 'Skyscraper Orange' in a partly shaded area this spring and it has hung on very nicely! While not growing as large or blooming as heavily as it does in containers, it avoided the plant bug damage and got through our late summer/early fall drought with no supplemental watering. I'm wondering if the afternoon shade helped with that aspect as I've read that the 'Skyscrapers" really don't like to dry out. The color is so unique in tender Salvias that I think I'll always find a spot for this one.

Ooh, I like the color of that "Amante". Too bad it takes off late, but it might be worth a try to see how it does here if I ever see it for sale. The "Skyscraper" looks nice, too, although it looks red on my monitor. The color scheme in my front is red, yellow, and blue, so this might be a good one to add for more red along with the red zinnias I grow.

I had the same experience with "Big Blue", I made a thread on it in 2023 or 2024. Nice that it's available from seed, but here in the north what's the point if it takes to long to get going or isn't very floriferous.

I take cuttings of "Mystic Spires" every year; they're in the windowsill rooting as I type. They are quite easy to root in the fall but I have a devil of a time with salvia cuttings over the winter under the lights, so I took more cuttings than I usually do this fall; I can just grow them on in the windowsill over the winter. Oddly, I never have any trouble rooting heliotrope cuttings, regardless of time of year {shrug}.

I may revisit "Black and Bloom" next year. I don't know what it is about "Black and Blue" nowadays, but teh plants just don't seem as large or robust as years ago when they first hit the market. I wonder if it has to do with they way they are commercially propagated or something, but really I have no clue as to why. Anyway, strangely enough the "B&Blue" does well where other things fail to thrive, which is under the drip-line of a maple tree in part-sun. Problem is I can't see it out the window, it's too short. The "Black and Bloom" was just too robust and large for my planters, but it might be the better choice for this odd-ball spot for more height.

Here is the PW "Unplugged Pink". I wish the flowers were a much lighter pink but more importantly it is still looking fine with tons of flowers after multiple nights of 3C/37F:

Salvia 'Amistad' was the champion among "termperennial" Salvias here in central Kentucky this year. It overwinters here more often than not.

First runner-up: Salvia elegans 'Golden Delicious', which made a great chartreuse-yellow foliage accent much of the season before starting to flower in early October.

Other good performers in 2025 have included S. guaranitica 'Van Remsen' (tall, late flowering) and S. 'Skyscraper Purple'.

'Rockin Fuchsia' was hardy for me here in zone 7a over one winter, failed to come back after the following winter.

@porkchop_z5b_MI The Skyscraper definitely isn’t a ”true” orange, and is more on the peachy/coral side of red, but it doesn’t read ”red” to me like a S. coccinea or splendens either. I like it paired with soft blues, which I would never do normally with a ”red.”

@rusty_blackhaw, Salvia 'Amsted' is very pretty

@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a), Unplugged Pink" is more purple thank pink. Nevertheless it is beautiful

Agree completely @forever_a_newbie_VA8. I do like its compact habit and floriferousness but the bloom colour is purple.

@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a), it looks similar to my ROCKIN® Fuchsia Salvia. It is zone 9-11, however on PW website, a lot of folks fro zone 7,8 reported hardy for them

Pineapple sage is 5 or 6 years old

I wish Black&Blue is could be more floriferous

Mexica sage is very reliable

it looks similar to my ROCKIN® Fuchsia Salvia.

@forever_a_newbie_VA8, I am now somewhat convinced that I dont have "Unplugged PINK" even though I have the tag. It is for sure a PW salvia but it is more like one of the "Rockin" varieties.

So I was watching a weekly youtube gardening video (the host runs an independent "boutique" nursery by chance, not far from where I reside). This week he was raving about a quite new tender salvia that he was able to show viewers called "Tropicolor" (there is "Sunrise", "Claret" and "Carmine" with "Sunrise" winning second place for Plant of the Year at the 2025 RHS Chelsea Show).

https://middletonnurseries.co.uk/product/salvia-tropcolor-sunrise/

https://middletonnurseries.co.uk/product/salvia-tropcolor-claret/

https://middletonnurseries.co.uk/product/salvia-tropcolor-carmine/

According to the host the Tropicolor series was developed by the same individual(s) who brought us the always impressive "Amistad".

The host had actual plants for each colour and they were vigorous and floriferous with the unusual feature of burgundy colour for the underside of the foliage. I have my fingers crossed that they will be available in Canada come spring 2026.

Not sure why my posts disappeared

After Thanksgiving night freeze: Mystic Spires

Rockin Fuchsia Salvia with rose Lavender Crush

Pineapple sage

Salvia Leucantha

I'm a bit jealous that you still have some flowers. None here. The colors in that last photo are so pretty.

I covered up the last of my "annual" salvias with leaves and plastic today. I think our coldest night so far has been around 20 so maybe they won't mind that I didn't get around to it until December. I covered up 3 or 4 tropical milkweed plants while I was at it. I doubt they'll return but it's worth a try.

They are mostly done now. I am very anxious about Rockin Fuchsia Salvia over wintering in ground. It bloomed so well and the flowers are very sweet (just tasted one today 😊). I will cover it with some mulch later

I was so happy when a potted "Rockin Fuchsia" that I kept in the garage over winter started putting out new growth last spring but when it bloomed I realized it wasn't my Rockin Fuchsia after all. It was a Purple and Bloom which has been easy to find and I already had a couple others of those. I need to use plant tags more often. (I didn't have to do that when I was younger.) I found another Rockin Fuchsia but it was late in the season. I left it in the ground and mulched it heavily but I'm going to be surprised if it comes back. I didn't know the flowers were edible. My brain doesn't want me to eat flowers. lol I've tried a couple others and just can't.

a potted "Rockin Fuchsia" that I kept in the garage over winter started putting out new growth last spring

That is cool! @christie_sw_mo, what zone are you in?

I need to use plant tags more often. (I didn't have to do that when I was younger).

Aint that the truth!

I'm in 6b. In general I don't have very good luck wintering plants over in my garage. There are always a few nights when we can't leave soda or bottled water in the garage because it would freeze solid but also days when it's too warm in there because there's a double window on the west. I've mostly given up on trying. Last winter I brought my garage salvia into my utility room when the temperature dropped below zero outside but I'd rather not have to do that.