Many beginning gardeners assume when they buy salvia plants, that they are all annuals...when in fact, perennial salvia are the majority. Thanks to the efforts of NC's resident salvia expert, Richard Dufresne, and many others, the genus salvia has become much more popular as a garden perennial. Our goal is to bring you the latest and the best of new woody and perennial salvia, including many native wildflowers like Salvia farinacea, Salvia greggii, Salvia nemorosa, Salvia microphylla, and Salvia guaranitica from the Southwest US and Mexico.
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Perennial salvia flowers come in a wide range of colors including, red, pink, salmon, coral, orange, yellow, purple, blue, white and everything between. There are dozens of perennial salvia species and cultivars to choose from, each with a slightly different flower color. While salvia flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds to the garden, they are generally not browsed by deer.
As a group most perennial salvias prefer full bright sun and well-drained soil, although a few are shade plants. Once established, many perennial salvias are quite-drought tolerant. For many of the marginally hardy perennial salvias, we recommend they not be cut back until early spring, since water will fill cut branches and freeze in winter, killing the plant.
Salvia greggii and Salvia microphylla are two of the most popular woody perennial salvia species for sale, each available in a range of colors. Salvia nemorosa is the most popular of the perennial salvia species, in part because of its wide range of hardiness. Many other perennial salvias are only winter-hardy in the mid- or Deep South. Salvia guaranitica is also a popular species, particularly the clone Salvia 'Black and Blue'.
We grow a very large selection of perennial salvias for sale, so when you're ready to buy salvia plants for your perennial garden, we hope you'll check our our online list of salvia plants for sale at Plant Delights.
Since 1988, Plant Delights Nursery has been the choice of serious gardeners and plant collectors looking for the best and rarest perennial plants. We are pleased to have received the Perennial Plant Association Retail Award in 2011, the American Horticulture Society Commercial Award in 2002, and to have been selected as one of the Best Mail Order Plant Sources - Garden Design Magazine 2010. Welcome to our family of plant lovers!
This hybrid from South Carolina garden designer, Frances Parker, is a cross between Salvia leucantha 'Midnight' x Salvia elegans (Pineapple sage). Frances rescued the young seedling from her lawn just ahead of the mower and named it for her young grandson, Anthony, who was 1 year old at the time (1994). Salvia 'Anthony Parker' makes a compact, 3' tall x 8' wide clump that is covered, from late September until frost, with 1' long, terminal, dark purple flower spikes. The purple spikes are adorned with dark purple calyxes as well as dark blue-purple (RHS 89A) flowers...a hummingbird favorite. As you can imagine, the floral effect is...dark purple. You will love this superb new salvia! Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(syn: Salvia pitcheri) Salvia azurea ssp. pitcheri is a tough garden-worthy US native with upright stems clothed with linear grey-green foliage. From July through September, the stems are topped with lovely, pure blue flowers. Salvia azurea is at home in dreadfully hot, dry sites as well as nestled in the midst of the perennial border. Salvia 'Nekan' (Nebraska-Kansas) is a seed strain named for a selected population found north of Lincoln, Nebraska. For us, this has proven to be a great improvement on the species with its more sturdy upright constitution and larger flowers. As Nebraskan nurseryman, Harlan Hamernik says, "If it'll grow in Nebraska, it'll grow anywhere." Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
We picked up this Salvia greggii hybrid in California under the incorrect name of Salvia macellaria. It turned out to be a splendid Salvia greggii hybrid (probably Salvia x jamensis) that forms a 3' tall x 4' wide, woody-stemmed, deer-resistant, hummingbird acclaimed clump, topped in spring and again in fall with a superb show of flower spikes of an unusual peachy-orange (RHS 31B) that just tops the foliage. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
From Mexico comes this small, drought-tolerant, grey-leaved salvia, forming a nice mass to 12" tall x 18" wide. The upright branches are topped with true sky-blue flowers (really, really BLUE) from early summer through early fall. Blue oak sage prefers a very well-drained site in the border or rock garden. This is truly one of our favorite plants we would not garden without. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
From California's Suncrest Nursery comes an interesting and easy-to-grow, deer-resistant Salvia microphylla x greggii hybrid, Salvia 'Dancing Dolls'. The 18" tall x 4' wide bush of woody stems is clothed in small, green, fragrant foliage and adorned from late April until frost with lovely light pink flowers, highlighted by a dark pink upper lip and nestled in black calyces against black flowering stems...mighty fine and a hummingbird treat! As with most woody salvias, good soil drainage is essential. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(syn: Salvia oresbia) This species from Mexico was renamed and officially published by England's James Compton in a 1994 issue of "Kew." It was originally discovered in Galeana, Mexico by Yucca Do Nursery collectors who unfortunately received no credit in Kew. When given plenty of room and bright light, Salvia darcyi makes a huge 4' tall x 7' wide clump of heart-shaped, light green leaves. Throughout the summer, the clump is topped by spikes of bright orange-red flowers (RHS 43A), but in the fall the floral show is nothing short of spectacular. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Salvia disjuncta is a little-known sage, first distributed in 1993 by California's Strybing Arboretum, having collected it from the southern Mexican mountains in the late 1980s. The mahogany-brown stems stretch to 6' tall and are covered in tiny white hairs...as are the folks who originally collected the salvia. The stalks are adorned with fragrant, fuzzy, heart-shaped leaves and topped, starting in late October, with intense, tubular, carmine-red flowers. In mild climates, flowering continues through the winter or until a hard freeze. Our plants of Salvia disjuncta have survived 6 degrees F unmulched, a far cry from the cold tolerances reported from California growers. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
From Holland's Piet Oudolf, comes this new selection of Salvia verticillata that has shown amazing vigor in our trials. Salvia 'Endless Love', which arose as a seedling from Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain', forms a 2' tall x 3' wide rosette of stems, each clothed in 5" long, fuzzy, hastate green leaves and topped, starting in mid-June (NC) with 9" long, upright, branched spikes of light lavender flowers...a hummingbird delight. In growth, it is much more robust than Salvia 'Purple Rain' with a longer flowering period. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
From one of Holland's premier plantsmen, Piet Oudolf, comes this stunning new Salvia pratensis hybrid, a sister seedling to Salvia 'Pink Delight'. The deciduous clump emerges in early spring with basal, light green, hastate leaves which are topped, starting in early April (NC), with up to two dozen 20" tall flowering stems of small lavender-pink (RHS 68D) flowers...a hummingbird celebration. For us, flowering continues through June. Salvia 'Eveline' grows best in an open location with good air movement. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Leave it to Texan Greg Grant to have nothing better to do on a summer day than wander through old graveyards, where he stumbled on a clump of Salvia farinacea gracing the Texas gravesite of Augusta Duelberg. The cuttings rooted and Salvia 'Augusta Duelberg' was born. This splendid selection of the Texas native Salvia farinacea makes a compact 30" tall x 4' wide specimen, topped from May until frost with hundreds of spikes of silvery-white flowers...attractive to hummingbirds. Obviously heat- and drought-tolerant, this native wildflower has been a real standout in our trials. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
From Greg Grant's infamous graveyard visit comes another clone of Salvia farinacea, this one from the Texas gravesite of Henry Duelberg. 'Henry' is a bit taller than his better half (Salvia farinacea 'Augusta Duelberg'), making a 2' tall x 3' wide clump of glossy, green foliage, topped with long 1' spikes of dark royal purple-blue...a hangout for hummingbirds. This phenomenally heat- and drought-tolerant selection is for the full-sun gardener who kills everything else. Soggy soils are about the only thing that will send these to meet their namesakes. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Salvia 'Big Pink' is a very nice, large-flowered pink form of Salvia greggii collected by Pat McNeal near Saltillo, Mexico. The rigidly upright form and very shiny deer-resistant foliage make this a great plant, even for the small garden. From May through July, and again from September through November, the 3' wide Salvia 'Big Pink' is topped with a stunning array of large, violet-pink flowers (RHS 57C). The flowers are further accented by the unique, dark maroon calyces that surround them...attractive to hummingbirds. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This is a Rich Dufresne selection of a seedling from California's Mike Nevin Smith. The 3-4' wide deer-resistant clumper is clothed with narrow green foliage and is topped with large, raspberry-colored flowers...a hummingbird delight. The flowering show of Salvia 'Dark Dancer' is heavy in spring and fall and sporadic through the warm muggy days of summer...truly SUPERB! Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
We picked up this delightful new color in Salvia greggii from plant guru, Chip Shoemaker, in Texas. The small mound of woody stems is clothed with narrow green foliage. In late spring and again in the fall, the 3-4' wide, deer-resistant, hummingbird-attracting clumps of Salvia 'Diane' are topped with small purple flowers. In some climates with less baking summers, you will also see some summer flowering. If you've been looking for a color break from typical Salvia greggii, this is your plant. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This new selection of Salvia greggii makes a 30" tall x 3' wide, woody-stemmed clump. The small, dark green, deer-resistant leaves adorn the stems that are topped from July until frost with short, dark purple spikes of brilliant red flowers...a real show stopper and continuous hummingbird treat! Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
We are really excited over this color selection of the drought-tolerant Texas sage. Salvia 'Lipstick' is also one of the longest-flowering Texas sage cultivars we have trialed. In our garden, it begins flowering in early May and continues through November. Each compact 3' tall x 3' wide clump is simply smothered in terminal flower spikes of lipstick-red (RHS 50A) flowers, each highlighted by a white throat and brown calyx...a hummingbird fiesta. Texas sage makes a great deer-resistant foreground addition to a grouping of ornamental grasses. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This deer-resistant, hummingbird-attracting selection of the durable Salvia greggii came to us from the late Logan Calhoun. Salvia 'Pink Preference' has been grown for years throughout central Texas. The 2' tall x 3' wide, woody clump is topped with dark, red-pink (RHS 57A) flowers highlighted by a nearly black floral calyx. For us, the heaviest flowering is during spring and fall months, although it still puts on a good show during summer. As with all Salvia greggiis, a dry, well-drained site is best. This is also one of the most winter-hardy of all the Salvia greggii varieties. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
I nearly fell off my chair when I first saw a photo of Salvia 'Teresa'...damn chair. This wild and crazy mutation was discovered by Texan David Steinbrunner and named after his wife, Teresa. The branch sport from a red Salvia greggii has white flowers highlighted by a light purple base just above the calyx as well as purple streaks on the lower lip...very different from any salvia I've ever seen. The 3' tall x 3' wide, upright, deer-resistant clump is topped with flowers in early spring, then sporadically through the heat of the summer. In fall, the plant bursts forth again in magnificent floral splendor...a hummingbird treat. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(aka: Salvia greggii 'Alba') This poor plant has been tossed around the country for years without a legitimate cultivar name, so, in 2006, we officially christened it Salvia gregii 'Texas Wedding'. The floral show reminds us of a Texas shotgun wedding where the bride was just blown to smithereens by a jealous ex...I just adore those fun-loving Texans. Salvia greggii 'Texas Wedding' is a very hardy, upright sub-shrub to 2' tall x 2' wide. Adorning the deer-resistant woody stems and small, narrow, evergreen leaves are masses of hummingbird attracting white flowers produced continuously from late spring into fall, except for a floral slow-down in the hottest part of midsummer. Well-drained soils are best for all Salvia greggii. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This Charles Cresson selection of Salvia guaranitica is dramatically different from the normal species. The tall plant is topped from June (NC) until fall with hundreds of tubular sky-blue flowers (RHS 97A)...not the dark blue that is more typical. This vigorous selection is also somewhat stoloniferous although it doesn't run far. Salvia 'Argentina Skies' is an easy-to-grow addition to the cooler colored sections of the perennial border...a hummingbird favorite. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
.jpg "Epimedium wushanense (Wushan Fairy Wings)")
.jpg "Salvia darcyi (Darcy's Mexican Sage)")
