Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with nearly 1000 species. Salvia species include annual, biennial, or perennial herbaceous plants, along with woody subshrubs. The stems are typically angled like other members in Lamiaceae. The leaves are typically entire, but sometimes toothed or pinnately divided. The flowering stems bear small bracts, dissimilar to the basal leaves in some species the bracts are ornamental and showy.
The flowers are produced in racemes or panicles, and generally produce a showy display with flower colors ranging from blue to red, with white and yellow less common. The calyx is normally tubular or bell shaped, without bearded throats, and divided into two parts or lips, the upper lip entire or three-toothed, the lower two-cleft. The corollas are often claw shaped and are two-lipped. The upper lip is usually entire or three-toothed. The lower lip typically has two lobes. The stamens are reduced to two short structures with anthers two-celled, the upper cell fertile, and the lower imperfect. The flower styles are two-cleft. The fruits are smooth ovoid or oblong nutlets and in many species they have a mucilaginous coating. Salvia species or varieties include:
- Salvia elegans
- Salvia splendens
- Salvia farinacea
- Salvia apiana
- Sabra Spike Sage
- Salvia columbariae
- Salvia ‘Love And Wishes’
- Salvia ‘Amistad’
- Salvia ‘Azure Snow’
- Salvia dorrii
- Salvia ‘Ember’s Wish’
- Salvia ‘Hot Lips’
- Salvia pachyphylla
- Salvia ‘Indiglo Girl’
- Salvia dorisiana
- Salvia ‘Little Kiss’
- Salvia guaranitica
- Salvia ‘Mystic Spires Blue’
- Salvia ‘Ultra Violet’
- Salvia ‘Royal Bumble’
- Salvia ‘Lady in Red’
- Salvia ‘Summer Jewel Pink’
- Salvia greggii
- Salvia curviflora
- Salvia lyrata
- Salvia oxyphora
Salvia elegans
Pineapple sage earns its common name from the fragrance of its crushed flowers and foliage. The sage has a clumping habit, growing 3 to 4 feet tall and spreading about 2 feet, with green, ovate, hairy-feeling leaves. In summer through fall, long flower spikes form that fill with two-lipped scarlet flowers.
Sabra Spike Sage or Salvia confertiflora
Sabra Spike Sage is a tender perennial with lance-shaped, scalloped, dark green leaves. Pungently-scented, they exude an unpleasant odor when bruised. In mid-summer to frost, slender spikes of small scarlet-orange flowers rise well above the foliage. The flower stalks and flowers are covered with velvety reddish-brown hairs. The blossoms provide a welcome splash of color in the late-season landscape.
Red Salvia or Salvia splendens
Despite an official common name of scarlet sage, many people refer to the plants simply as red salvia. It fills garden beds and patio pots each summer with its brilliant red, upright blossoms. Some cultivars offer scarlet sage with white, salmon, burgundy, lavender, pink, and orange flowers.
Salvia farinacea
Commonly referred to as mealycup sage or Victoria blue salvia. Like other salvias, mealycup sage has the familiar fragrant, lance-shaped leaves and spikes of colorful lobed flowers. However, the leaves of mealycup sage are not fuzzy or thick like many other sage plants—instead, they are shiny, elongated, and slightly serrated with a hint of gray on the underside. This salvia is normally planted in spring and will grow quickly, flowering within about four months.
Salvia columbariae
Salvia columbariae is a stunning annual boasting one or more round clusters packed with tiny, vivid-blue flowers in early spring to early summer. Borne along strongly vertical, square stems, each cluster contains one dozen to several dozens of two-lipped flowers.
Salvia apiana
Also referred to as White sage, it is characterized by silvery-white, aromatic leaves and tall flower stalks reaching above the foliage displaying lavender tinged white blossoms. This shruby sage reaches 2-4 feet tall and is useful for sunny dry areas with good drainage.
Salvia ‘Love And Wishes’
Salvia ‘Love And Wishes’ is an upright salvia featuring showy spikes of bold reddish-purple flowers, emerging from papery, dark burgundy bracts. Blooming from late spring to frost, the blossoms rise along dark stems, well above the foliage of mid to deep green, glossy leaves. Easy and fast growing, this plant is a favorite of butterflies and hummingbirds.
Salvia ‘Amistad’
Salvia ‘Amistad’ is a bushy, upright salvia with large, rich royal purple flowers adorned with nearly black calyces. Blooming constantly from early summer until frost, the flowers are a magnet for butterflies and hummingbirds.
Salvia ‘Azure Snow’
Perfect for small spaces, Salvia ‘Azure Snow’ is a lovely upright salvia producing unique bicolored flowering spikes of deep violet blue and white flowers. The blossoms are densely arranged in whorls around the stems and bloom from late spring into early summer.
Salvia dorrii
Salvia dorrii is a woody evergreen salvia, producing narrowly lance-shaped, silvery gray, aromatic leaves on square stem and spectacular deep blue-violet flower spikes in late spring to mid summer. Larger than most other sages, the intensely colored inflorescences of bright blue to blue-violet flowers extend beyond the pinkish-purple bracts, while their long stamen add further elegance to the display.
Salvia ‘Ember’s Wish’
Salvia ‘Ember’s Wish’ is a woody-based salvia featuring showy spikes of bright fiery-orange and coral flowers emerging from papery, dusty rose bracts. Blooming from spring to frost, the blossoms rise along dark burgundy stems, well above the foliage of mid-green glossy leaves. The blossoms do not fade in the heat and provide a welcome splash of color in the landscape.
Salvia ‘Hot Lips’
Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ is an evergreen salvia that will reward you with a profusion of eye-catching, brilliant red and white flowers from early summer to frost. Borne in loose terminal racemes, the blossoms are lipstick red in early summer, turn vivid red and pure white in mid-late summer before changing to white when the days shorten.
Salvia pachyphylla
Salvia pachyphylla is a long-lived evergreen shrub, producing slightly cupped, silvery gray, aromatic leaves on square stem and spectacular bluish/purple flower spikes all summer long. Larger than most other sages, the intensely colored inflorescences of tubular blue flowers extend beyond the rosy pink bracts, while their long stamen add further elegance to the display.
Salvia ‘Indiglo Girl’
Salvia ‘Indiglo Girl’ is a cross between Salvia nemorosa and Salvia pratensis. It is a lovely upright salvia boasting large, rich and vibrant blue flowers adorned with contrasting dark calyxes. The blossoms are densely arranged in whorls around the stems and bloom from late spring into early summer. It gracefully rebloom if sheared back.
Salvia dorisiana
Salvia dorisiana is a semi-evergreen, woody-based, heavily branched sage or salvia with large, fuzzy, pale green, heart-shaped leaves that give off a fruity scent when brushed or crushed. Blooming in winter to summer, depending on location, brilliant spikes of large magenta pink flowers, with a lime-green calyx, attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
Salvia ‘Little Kiss’
Salvia ‘Little Kiss’ is a charming, upright salvia with a profusion of eye-catching, brilliant lipstick red and white flowers from spring to frost. Borne in loose terminal racemes, the blossoms are of great aesthetic appeal in borders or containers and attract scores of butterflies, hummingbirds and beneficial insects.
Salvia guaranitica
Salvia guaranitica is a lovely salvia featuring showy spikes of vibrant dark blue flowers emerging from black calyces. Blooming from late spring to frost, the blossoms rise along slender, dark stems above a lush clump of ovate green leaves. Aromatic, the foliage exudes a soft anise scent when bruised.
Salvia ‘Mystic Spires Blue’
Salvia ‘Mystic Spires Blue’ is an excellent compact selection from the highly popular Salvia ‘Indigo Spires’. Well-branched and very free-flowering, ‘Mystic Spires Blue’ produces masses of sturdy, purple-blue flower stalks that are of great aesthetic appeal in beds, borders or containers and attract scores of butterflies, hummingbirds and beneficial insects.
Salvia ‘Ultra Violet’
Salvia ‘Ultra Violet’ is an eye-catching salvia that will reward you with a profusion of bright violet flowers from mid summer to frost. Borne in loose terminal racemes along upright stems clad with aromatic dark green leaves, the very attractive flower stalks are of great aesthetic appeal in beds or borders.
Salvia ‘Royal Bumble’
Salvia ‘Royal Bumble’ is a bushy evergreen shrub with a profusion of large, brilliant red flowers adorned with contrasting purple-black calyxes over a long season. Blooming from spring to frost, the blossoms are borne on purple-black, upright stems and stand out against the foliage of aromatic, glossy, deep-green leaves.
Salvia ‘Lady in Red’
‘Lady in Red’ is a compact, upright salvia boasting loose spikes of two-lipped, tubular, brilliant red flowers. Blooming from midsummer to fall, the blossoms are attractive to butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and other pollinators. The flowers of this showy southern native are borne well above the bushy foliage of oval dark green leaves.
Salvia ‘Summer Jewel Pink’
‘Summer Jewel Pink’ is a compact, upright perennial boasting loose spikes of two-lipped, tubular, shell-pink flowers. Blooming from early summer to fall, the blossoms are attractive to butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and other pollinators. The flowers of this showy southern native are borne well above the bushy foliage of heart-shaped dark green leaves.
Salvia greggii
Salvia greggii is a bushy sub-shrub boasting brilliant racemes of usually red, two-lipped flowers, but the flowers may also appear purple, pink, yellow or violet. Blooming from spring to frost, the flowers bloom in whorls above the mintily aromatic foliage of small, ovate, downy, green leaves.
Salvia curviflora
Salvia curviflora is an upright, bushy, semi-evergreen salvia with a profusion of tubular bright fuchsia-pink flowers held on long graceful spikes in summer and fall. The lower lip of the velvety blossoms is often curved under. The tall, vertical spires are clothed with a lush foliage of long, lance-shaped, dark green leaves.
Salvia lyrata
Salvia lyrata is an upright, herbaceous salvia forming a rosette of elongated, lyre-shaped, dark green to slightly purplish leaves, often lobed or dissected. In early spring to early summer, an abundance of pale-blue to lavender, two-lipped tubular flowers, adorned with contrasting purplish-brown sepals, are borne in whorls around the stems.
Salvia oxyphora
Salvia oxyphora is a half-hardy, upright perennial with a luxuriant foliage of large, lanceolate leaves that clothe the upright stems. Blooming from mid summer through fall, spikes of striking cerise pink to cherry red flowers, covered in fine hairs, appear above the foliage. Sweetly fragrant, the blossoms attract bees and hummingbirds.
Further References
- Popular Species of Salvia: https://www.thespruce.com/common-types-of-salvia-flowers-annual-and-perennial-4767399
- Types of Salvia: https://www.bhg.com/gardening/flowers/perennials/guide-to-salvias/
- Facts About Salvia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia
- List of Salvia Species: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Salvia_species
- Salvia Growing Information: https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/salvia/