{"title":"Salvias","description":"\u003cp\u003eSalvias are the sages, a huge and generous tribe of aromatic, long-flowering plants that runs from hardy perennials to tender shrubs and everything between. Between them they cover an extraordinary range of color, from true blue and violet to scarlet, pink, and white, on plants that flower for months rather than weeks. The pungent foliage, which deer and other browsers tend to walk past, is a bonus on top of the bloom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the landscape salvias are the engine room of the long-season border. They carry color from late spring deep into fall, hold up to heat and drought once established, and mix as easily into a naturalistic planting as a formal one. Tall kinds give spires and structure; low ones edge a path or fill a container; and nearly all of them repay a light cut-back with a fresh flush of flower.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe grow salvias for their unmatched value to pollinators and their sheer, forgiving generosity. Tubular salvia flowers are built for bees, butterflies, and above all hummingbirds, which work them from spring to frost, and the plants ask for little more than sun and drainage in return. Few groups give a garden so much life for so little trouble.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive them full sun and sharp drainage, go easy on water and feed, and cut them back to keep the flowers coming. Weave them through our \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/herbaceous-perennials\"\u003eHerbaceous Perennials\u003c\/a\u003e, lean on them in our \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/sun-lovers\"\u003eSun Lovers\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/drought-tolerant-plants\"\u003eDrought-Tolerant Plants\u003c\/a\u003e collections, and find the natives among our \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/southeast-natives\"\u003eSoutheastern Natives\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"salvia-darcyi","title":"Salvia darcyi","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia darcyi\u003c\/em\u003e, the Galeana sage, is a bold Mexican sage grown for one of the purest scarlets in the whole tribe of salvias, a color that reads across a garden and pulls hummingbirds from a distance. Through the heat of summer and well into fall, upright spikes of large, bright orange-red flowers rise above a mound of soft, gray-green, heart-shaped leaves that release a clean minty scent when brushed. Few tender salvias give so long or so vivid a show.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe plant carries a good discovery story. \u003cem\u003eSalvia darcyi\u003c\/em\u003e grows wild on the limestone cliffs of the Sierra Madre Oriental near Galeana, in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and came into gardens through the Texas plant explorers John Fairey and Carl Schoenfeld, who collected the species in 1991 and introduced it through their Yucca Do Nursery. From that mountain provenance the sage brings an unexpected toughness, hardy to the low single digits when the winter soil is kept sharply drained and dry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the garden the Galeana sage settles into a large, arching clump, in time three to four feet tall and wider still where summers are long, so give the plant room. Site the sage in a hot, sunny, well-drained spot, a xeric or gravel border, a raised bed, or a large container, where the scarlet spikes can be watched for hummingbirds and paired with agastache, other salvias, and warm-season grasses that share a love of heat and sharp drainage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrought tolerant once established and largely left alone by deer, \u003cem\u003eSalvia darcyi\u003c\/em\u003e asks only for sun, lean fast-draining soil, and a dry winter. Cut the old stems back in late winter, since the plant dies to the ground in colder gardens and returns from the root in spring, and enjoy one of the most reliable hummingbird plants a warm garden can hold.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057985359987,"sku":"SALV-DARC-01G","price":12.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"salvia-leucantha-midnight","title":"Salvia leucantha 'Midnight'","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia leucantha\u003c\/em\u003e 'Midnight' is the all-purple form of the Mexican bush sage, and the difference is worth seeing. Where the common kind carries small white corollas against purple calyces, 'Midnight' drops the white altogether, so the long arching spikes read as pure, saturated purple from calyx to flower, a deeper and more solid color that carries even further across an autumn garden.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn every other way the selection keeps the virtues of the species: a rounded, shrubby mound of arching stems, narrow gray-green leaves that are white-woolly beneath and softly aromatic when brushed, and the same silvered, felted texture that looks good long before the flowers arrive. Native to the highlands of Mexico, the Mexican bush sage is built for heat and sun.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe flowers pour out from late summer through the first frost, a long and generous run of lavender-purple that draws hummingbirds fueling for migration along with bees and butterflies. The velvety, fragrant foliage is left alone by deer and shrugs off most pests and diseases, so the plant asks little once settled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite 'Midnight' in full sun in well-drained soil, at the back or middle of a border, in a pollinator bed, or in a large container, and let the solid purple spikes play against warm-season grasses, asters, and the golds of fall. The spikes cut and dry well for arrangements. In zone 8 and warmer the plant returns from the root each spring; farther north it makes a fast, showy annual. Cut the old growth down in late winter.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057985622131,"sku":"SALV-LEUC-MIDN-01G","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/WoodlandersSalvialeucanthaMidnight1.jpg?v=1758741129"},{"product_id":"salvia-microphylla-deltoid","title":"Salvia microphylla 'Deltoid'","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia microphylla\u003c\/em\u003e 'Deltoid' is a shrubby form of the littleleaf or baby sage grown for warm salmon-coral flowers and neat, triangular, deltoid leaves. The small tubular blooms open over a long season and read as a soft coral against the fine, glossy foliage, a gentler tone than the hot scarlet of many littleleaf sages.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe little leaves that give the species its name carry the fresh, fruity, blackcurrant scent of the plant when brushed, and that scent has a use: in Mexico \u003cem\u003eSalvia microphylla\u003c\/em\u003e is known as mirto de monte, and the leaves are steeped into a refreshing blackcurrant-flavored tea, part of a long folk tradition touched on in the fields below.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLike the other shrubby sages, 'Deltoid' is easy and tough, drawing hummingbirds through a long bloom and shrugging off heat and drought once settled. The evergreen frame holds through mild winters, and a hard cut in late winter keeps the plant dense and floriferous.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite \u003cem\u003eSalvia microphylla\u003c\/em\u003e 'Deltoid' in full sun to part shade in well-drained soil or sandy loam, in a xeric border, a rock garden, a native or pollinator bed, or a large container. The soft coral flowers pair easily with other sun lovers, from agastache and salvias to warm-season grasses, in dry, low-water plantings, and the plant asks little once established.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057986048115,"sku":"SALV-MICR-DELT-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/Salviamicrophylla_Deltoid_Woodlanders3.jpg?v=1731728177"},{"product_id":"salvia-microphylla-hot-lips","title":"Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips'","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia microphylla\u003c\/em\u003e 'Hot Lips' is the famous temperature-shifting bicolor of the littleleaf sages, and the trick is worth the fame. In the cool of spring the flowers may open pure white or pure red, but as summer heat builds they turn strikingly two-tone, white below with a bold red lip, so that a single plant can carry white, red, and red-and-white flowers all at once. The show runs from late spring until frost.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe small, glossy leaves that give the species its name carry the fresh, fruity, blackcurrant scent typical of the littleleaf sage when brushed, and that scent has a use of its own: in Mexico \u003cem\u003eSalvia microphylla\u003c\/em\u003e is known as mirto de monte, and the leaves are steeped into a refreshing blackcurrant-flavored tea, part of a long folk tradition set out in the fields below.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFast, tough, and generous, 'Hot Lips' builds a rounded, twiggy shrub of two to four feet, drawing hummingbirds and bees through the whole long bloom and shrugging off heat and drought once established. A hard cut in late winter keeps the plant dense and floriferous.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite \u003cem\u003eSalvia microphylla\u003c\/em\u003e 'Hot Lips' in full sun in well-drained soil, in a xeric border, a cottage garden, a pollinator bed, or a large container, where the shifting red-and-white flowers can be watched up close. Pair with warm-season grasses, other salvias, and subtropical companions in dry, low-water plantings, and give a sheltered spot at the cold edge of the range.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057986146419,"sku":"SALV-MICR-HOT-LIPS-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/Salviamicrophylla_HotLips_Woodlanders1.png?v=1748993040"},{"product_id":"salvia-greggii-furmans-red","title":"Salvia greggii \"Furman's Red\"","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia greggii\u003c\/em\u003e 'Furman's Red' is a small, woody sage grown for a long, generous run of deep, true-red flowers that carry from early summer straight through fall. The tubular, two-lipped blooms glow against fine, dark green, aromatic leaves, and few small shrubs bloom so steadily for so little trouble, feeding hummingbirds and bees the whole time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe species behind the selection, the autumn sage, is a plant of the limestone hills of west Texas and northern Mexico, and 'Furman's Red' keeps every bit of that tough, sun-loving, lime-tolerant character. A hot, dry, sharply drained site is exactly what the plant wants, and alkaline soil that defeats many shrubs suits the autumn sage perfectly, which makes the selection a mainstay of xeric and low-water gardens across the warm South and Southwest.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAromatic when brushed and passed over by deer, 'Furman's Red' earns a place near a path or a seat where the hummingbird traffic can be watched at close range. The compact, twiggy frame stays neat with a hard cut in late winter, which clears the old wood and drives a dense spring flush.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite the plant in full sun in lean, well-drained, even alkaline soil, in a xeric border, a rock or gravel garden, a hot bank, or a large container, and pair with agastache, other salvias, and warm-season grasses that share the taste for heat and sharp drainage. Drought tolerant once established, and one of the most dependable red-flowered small shrubs a hot garden can hold.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057986244723,"sku":"SALV-GREG-FURM-RED-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"salvia-mellisadora","title":"Salvia melissodora","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia melissodora\u003c\/em\u003e, the grape-scented sage, is a woody Mexican shrub grown for a scent as much as a flower, since the small lavender-blue blooms carry an unmistakable perfume of grape soda that drifts on warm air. Native to the Sierra Madre from Chihuahua south to Oaxaca, at four to eight thousand feet, the plant flowers in long spikes from late spring right through to frost, an exceptionally long and fragrant season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe plant builds a rounded, woody shrub, to six feet in the wild but nearer three feet high and wide in most gardens, clothed in soft, aromatic, gray-green leaves. The species name \u003cem\u003emelissodora\u003c\/em\u003e points to the bee-sweet scent, from the Greek for honeybee, and the flowers live up to it, nectar-rich and thronged all season by bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe grape-scented sage carries a second name, tarahumara, after the Tarahumara people of the Sierra Madre, who have used the leaves and seeds of the plant for medicinal purposes for several hundred years, a tradition touched on in the fields below.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite \u003cem\u003eSalvia melissodora\u003c\/em\u003e in a hot, sunny, well-drained spot near a path, a seat, or an open window where the grape fragrance can be caught, in a xeric border, a pollinator planting, or a large container. Pair with other sun-and-drought lovers such as agastache and salvias, give sharp drainage, and cut back in late winter to keep the shrub dense. Drought tolerant once established, and one of the most fragrant salvias a warm garden can grow.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057986310259,"sku":"SALV-MELL-01G","price":14.25,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"salvia-guaranitica-black-and-blue","title":"Salvia guaranitica \"Black and Blue\"","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia guaranitica\u003c\/em\u003e 'Black and Blue' is a big, vigorous perennial sage grown for one of the truest blues in the garden, a deep gentian to cobalt held in near-black calyces that give the selection its name. Through the warm months, tall spikes rise above soft, hairy, deep green leaves and open in a long, generous run, and few hardy perennials offer a blue this saturated for so long a season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe species is a South American plant, native to Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina, where the anise-scented sage grows tall and lush in warmth, and 'Black and Blue' keeps every bit of that vigor, often reaching six feet in a single season. The foliage carries a faint anise scent when brushed, and the tubular flowers are built for hummingbirds, which work the spikes tirelessly from summer into fall alongside bees and butterflies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVigorous is the word to keep in mind. In warm gardens the plant spreads by fleshy tuberous roots into a broad colony, so give room or a contained bed, and the sheer size means a spot at the back of a border or against a fence suits best. In zone 7 the top dies back in winter and returns from the root in spring; in colder gardens the plant makes a fast, spectacular annual.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite \u003cem\u003eSalvia guaranitica\u003c\/em\u003e 'Black and Blue' in full sun to part shade in good, moisture-retentive garden soil, at the back of a large border, in a pollinator planting, or in a big container, and pair with warm-season grasses, cannas, and other bold late-summer perennials. Water through dry spells, cut the old growth down in late winter, and enjoy a hummingbird plant that carries true blue from midsummer to frost.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057986769011,"sku":"SALV-GUAR-BLAC-AND-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-1284.jpg?v=1720141064"},{"product_id":"salvia-leucantha","title":"Salvia leucantha","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia leucantha\u003c\/em\u003e, the Mexican bush sage, is one of the great fall salvias, grown for arching wands of flower that seem spun from felt. Long spikes rise above the foliage in late summer and fall, densely packed with velvety purple calyces from which small white corollas emerge, a soft two-tone effect that catches low autumn light and holds for weeks. Few plants close the gardening year with such generous, easy color.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNative to the subtropical highlands of central and eastern Mexico, the Mexican bush sage builds a rounded, shrubby mound of arching stems clothed in narrow, gray-green leaves, white-woolly beneath and aromatic when brushed. The whole plant has a silvered, soft-textured quality even out of bloom, and the flower spikes cut and dry beautifully for arrangements, holding their color long after picking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe late flowers are a magnet for hummingbirds fueling up for migration, along with bees and butterflies, at a season when little else offers so much nectar. Deer tend to pass the woolly foliage by, and the plant asks for almost nothing once settled beyond sun and sharp drainage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite \u003cem\u003eSalvia leucantha\u003c\/em\u003e in full sun in well-drained soil, at the back or middle of a border, in a pollinator planting, or in a large container, and pair the purple-and-white spikes with warm-season grasses, asters, and the golds of autumn. In zone 8 and warmer the plant returns from the root each spring; farther north it makes a fast, spectacular annual. Cut the old growth down in late winter to make way for fresh stems.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057986867315,"sku":"SALV-LEUC-01G","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/733AFE1A-B2BA-4890-B329-075C5633DFCF.jpg?v=1725369209"},{"product_id":"salvia-urticifolia","title":"Salvia urticifolia","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia urticifolia\u003c\/em\u003e, the nettleleaf sage, is an uncommon herbaceous perennial native to the Appalachians and the wider Southeast, grown for cool blue-to-violet flowers set off by a pair of white marks in the throat. The bloom comes in the freshness of mid to late spring, the flowers hovering above serrated, nettle-like leaves, and in a generous year a lighter second flush may follow in late summer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the wild the plant keeps to dry woodland edges, open woods, and rocky outcrops across the Southern mountains, and that upbringing shapes what the sage wants in the garden: lean, dry, sharply drained ground, on the alkaline rather than the acid side, in sun to part shade. Unlike the showy tender sages from warmer countries, the nettleleaf sage is a plant of quiet, durable virtue, drought tolerant once settled and content on ground that defeats fussier perennials.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe flowers draw bees and other pollinators, and deer tend to pass the nettle-textured foliage by. Seldom seen in the trade, this native deserves wider growing, and sits naturally at a woodland edge, in a native or pollinator planting, or in a naturalistic border among other Southeastern wildflowers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite \u003cem\u003eSalvia urticifolia\u003c\/em\u003e in sun to part shade in dry, well-drained soil, and let the plant naturalize gently at a woodland edge, in a native bed, or in a cottage or gravel garden. Pair with other lean-ground natives that share the taste for dry, sunny to lightly shaded conditions, give little water once established, and cut the old stems down after bloom. A modest, hardy, low-maintenance native for the gardener who values the quiet things.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057986965619,"sku":"SALV-URTI-01G","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-725.jpg?v=1720141071"},{"product_id":"salvia-farinacea-x-longispicata-indigo-spires","title":"Salvia farinacea x longispicata 'Indigo Spires'","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia\u003c\/em\u003e 'Indigo Spires' is a big, free-flowering hybrid sage grown for the long, tapering wands of violet-blue bloom it throws from early summer straight through to frost. Each spike packs small, rich violet flowers tightly in whorls above dark, near-black calyces, and the spikes lengthen and curve as the season goes, so a settled clump reads as a haze of deep blue-purple for months on end. Few perennials give so much color for so long a run.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe plant has a tidy origin story for so exuberant a thing. 'Indigo Spires' turned up as a chance seedling at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in California, growing near its two presumed parents, the mealycup sage \u003cem\u003eSalvia farinacea\u003c\/em\u003e and the Mexican \u003cem\u003eSalvia longispicata\u003c\/em\u003e, and was selected by the horticulturist John MacGregor and introduced in 1979. The hybrid is thought to be sterile, which is part of why the bloom runs so long, since the plant pours energy into flowers rather than seed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVigorous and semi-woody, 'Indigo Spires' builds a large, sprawling clump of three to five feet, sometimes flopping under its own weight, which is easily turned to advantage by letting the plant lean through sturdier neighbors or by a shear or two in early summer for a denser frame. The aromatic foliage is passed over by deer, and the long violet spikes are a magnet for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds from summer into fall.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive \u003cem\u003eSalvia\u003c\/em\u003e 'Indigo Spires' a hot, sunny, well-drained spot with room to spread, in a large border, a pollinator planting, or a big container, and pair it with other sun lovers such as ornamental grasses, agastache, and lantana. Water through dry spells, cut the plant back in late winter, and, in zone 8 and warmer, expect it to return reliably from the root each spring; farther north it makes a superb long-blooming annual.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057987063923,"sku":"SALV-FARI-INDI-SPIR-01G","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-726.jpg?v=1720141074"},{"product_id":"salvia-mexicana","title":"Salvia mexicana","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia mexicana\u003c\/em\u003e, the big blue Mexican sage, is a tall, dramatic perennial grown for deep, saturated blue-violet flowers that arrive when the gardening year is winding down. The tubular blooms, set in contrasting calyces, are carried in long spikes above bold, heart-shaped leaves, and few plants bring so pure and deep a blue to the autumn garden.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNative to the highlands of Mexico, the big blue Mexican sage is a large plant, reaching eight to ten feet in a long season and spreading into a broad, shrubby clump, so the sage belongs at the back of a big border where the height can work. The whole is aromatic in the way of the genus, and the late timing makes the plant a valuable close to the season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe deep blue tubular flowers are built for hummingbirds, which work the spikes heavily as they fuel for migration, along with bees and butterflies drawn to the late nectar. Deer tend to pass the aromatic foliage by.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite \u003cem\u003eSalvia mexicana\u003c\/em\u003e in full sun to part shade in well-drained soil or sandy loam, at the back of a large border, in a subtropical planting, or as a bold late-season specimen, and let the deep blue play against the golds and oranges of fall. In zone 9 grow the plant as a seasonal highlight; in zone 8 mulch the roots for winter, and expect the sage to return from the root in spring. Cut the old growth down in late winter.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057987260531,"sku":"SALV-MEXI-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-722.jpg?v=1720141077"},{"product_id":"salvia-microphylla-lutea","title":"Salvia microphylla \"Lutea\"","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia microphylla\u003c\/em\u003e 'Lutea' is an uncommon yellow-flowered form of the littleleaf or baby sage, a small woody shrub of the mountains of Mexico and the borderlands. Where the species carries the usual salvia scarlet or orange-red, 'Lutea' opens soft, pale yellow flowers instead, a quiet and unusual color on a plant otherwise known for hot tones, and blooms over a long season from late spring into fall.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe small, glossy leaves give the plant its name and carry the fresh, fruity, blackcurrant scent typical of the species when brushed, which is no idle detail: in Mexico \u003cem\u003eSalvia microphylla\u003c\/em\u003e is known as mirto de monte, myrtle of the mountains, and the leaves are steeped into a refreshing blackcurrant-flavored tea with a long history of folk use, a tradition set out in the fields below.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLike all the shrubby sages, the littleleaf sage is easy, tough, and generous, drawing hummingbirds through its long bloom and shrugging off heat and drought once established. A hard cut in late winter keeps the small frame dense and floriferous.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite \u003cem\u003eSalvia microphylla\u003c\/em\u003e 'Lutea' in full sun in well-drained soil or sandy loam, in a xeric border, a rock garden, a herb bed, or a large container, where the pale yellow flowers cool the hot palette of other autumn sages. Pair with agastache, other salvias, and warm-season grasses on lean, sharply drained ground, and give a sheltered spot at the cold edge of the range.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057987391603,"sku":"SALV-MICR-LUTE-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-1590.jpg?v=1720141081"},{"product_id":"salvia-koyamae","title":"Salvia koyamae","description":"\u003cp\u003eHere is a salvia that wants what salvias are not supposed to want. Most of the genus comes from sunbaked Mediterranean hillsides, dry Mexican mountains, and dusty California chaparral, so that the very word \u003cem\u003eSalvia\u003c\/em\u003e is shorthand for full sun, gravelly soil, and a watering regime closer to neglect than care. \u003cem\u003eSalvia koyamae\u003c\/em\u003e, endemic to the cool wooded slopes of Honshu in Japan, breaks every rule, asking instead for shade, moist humus-rich woodland duff, and the cool morning light that filters through a deciduous canopy. This is, in short, the salvia to grow where hostas would otherwise go.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Japanese name, \u003cem\u003eShinano-akigiri\u003c\/em\u003e, names both the plant's home and season: \u003cem\u003eShinano\u003c\/em\u003e is the old name for the mountainous Nagano region where the species was first collected, and \u003cem\u003eakigiri\u003c\/em\u003e reads loosely as autumn paulownia, \u003cem\u003eaki\u003c\/em\u003e for autumn and \u003cem\u003ekiri\u003c\/em\u003e for the way the broad, arrow-shaped leaves echo the foliage of the paulownia tree. The species was formally described by Tomitaro Makino, the self-taught botanist often called the father of Japanese plant science, and named in honor of his colleague Mitsuo Koyama, the same man remembered in \u003cem\u003ePicea koyamae\u003c\/em\u003e, a small overlapping circle of late-Meiji Japanese botany.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe leaves are the first thing to catch the eye. Large for a salvia, six inches long and nearly as wide, softly hairy, arrow-to-heart-shaped, fresh green and lightly fragrant when bruised, they build a loose, low, almost groundcover-like clump that fills space generously through the season. From August into October slender spikes lift just above the foliage carrying the second surprise, pale butter-yellow tubular flowers, two-lipped and translucent, in a color almost no other salvia produces. Yellow is rare in the genus at all, and a yellow shade salvia is a small horticultural unicorn.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePair the plant with hostas, hellebores, hakone grass, tiarella, heuchera, \u003cem\u003eIris cristata\u003c\/em\u003e, the smaller ferns, and the spring ephemerals such as trillium, mertensia, and bloodroot that go dormant just as \u003cem\u003eSalvia koyamae\u003c\/em\u003e hits full stride. Genuinely rare even in the wild of its native Honshu, and uncommon enough in the Western trade to feel like a real find in a catalog, this is the salvia for the gardener whose sunny sage patch is full and whose shade beds want something no one else is growing.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057987588211,"sku":"SALV-KOYA-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-1285.jpg?v=1720141084"},{"product_id":"salvia-littae","title":"Salvia littae","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia littae\u003c\/em\u003e, Litta's purple sage, is a bold, late-flowering Mexican salvia from the cool cloud forests of Oaxaca, grown for thick, plush spikes of fuzzy, purplish-pink to magenta flowers that open when the gardening year is nearly done. On stout spikes a foot or more long, the densely felted blooms have a rich, tactile quality unusual even among salvias, and the color glows in the low light of late autumn.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom that mountain-forest home the plant brings a taste for richer, moister ground than most sages want, and a habit of spreading gently by underground runners into a soft-leaved clump of fresh green. The whole is aromatic in the way of the genus, and builds through the summer into a substantial, upright plant of three to six feet before the flowers arrive.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTiming is everything with this one. \u003cem\u003eSalvia littae\u003c\/em\u003e flowers very late, from late fall into early winter, so the plant is at its best in the Deep South and other frost-free or nearly frost-free gardens where an early freeze will not cut the display short. Where the season is long enough, the reward is a wave of hummingbird-thronged magenta at a time when almost nothing else is blooming.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite \u003cem\u003eSalvia littae\u003c\/em\u003e in sun to light shade in rich, well-drained soil with regular water, at the back of a warm border, in a subtropical planting, or in a large container that can be sheltered where winters bite. Give room for the runners to spread, pair with other late salvias and warm-climate perennials, and, in cold-prone gardens, grow the plant in a pot to bring the buds through under cover. A collector's late-season salvia for the patient, warm-garden gardener.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057987653747,"sku":"SALV-LITT-01G","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"salvia-puberula","title":"Salvia puberula","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia puberula\u003c\/em\u003e, the downy sage, is a big, late-flowering Mexican sage grown for tall spikes of deep magenta-pink flowers that open when the year is nearly done. The blooms are large, nearly four inches long, gathered in showy clusters atop the spikes, and the color is rich and saturated, glowing at a season when little else is in flower. The spikes cut well for the vase.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNative to the mountains of northeastern Mexico, in Nuevo Leon, the plant builds a large, soft-leaved shrub, to six feet high and four wide, clothed in light green leaves covered in fine velvety hairs. The species name \u003cem\u003epuberula\u003c\/em\u003e points to that downy texture, which gives the whole plant a soft, matte quality even out of bloom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTiming is the thing to know. Downy sage blooms very late, from October into winter, so the plant is at its best in the Deep South and other mild-winter gardens where frost holds off long enough for the display. Where the season is long enough, the late magenta spikes are a gift to hummingbirds wintering in warm country, along with the last bees of the year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite \u003cem\u003eSalvia puberula\u003c\/em\u003e in full sun to part shade in well-drained soil that is neither poor nor rich, at the back of a warm border, in a subtropical planting, or in a large container that can be sheltered where winters bite. Give room for the tall frame, pair with other late salvias and warm-climate perennials, and, in cold-prone gardens, grow the plant in a pot to carry the buds through under cover. A collector's late-season sage for the patient, warm-garden gardener.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057987686515,"sku":"SALV-PUBE-01G","price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"salvia-greggii-rachel","title":"Salvia greggii \"Rachel\"","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia greggii\u003c\/em\u003e 'Rachel' is an uncommon white-flowered form of the autumn sage, the normally red-flowered small shrub of the Texas and Mexican borderlands, and the plant came to Woodlanders from the Texas plantsman Greg Grant. The clean white flowers are a soft surprise in a species best known for scarlet, and 'Rachel' carries a second twist as well: the leaves are lightly variegated, speckled and dusted with cream, so the plant reads bright even out of bloom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEverything that makes the autumn sage such a tough, easy garden plant carries through to this selection. As a plant of the semi-desert Southwest, \u003cem\u003eSalvia greggii\u003c\/em\u003e asks above all for good drainage and a mostly sunny site, and thrives on lean, dry, even alkaline ground that many shrubs cannot take. The white flowers open in waves from summer into fall over the fine, aromatic, cream-flecked foliage, feeding hummingbirds and bees the whole time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAromatic when brushed and left alone by deer, 'Rachel' earns a place at the front of a border, in a rock or gravel garden, or near a path where both the pale flowers and the variegated leaves can be read at close range. The compact, twiggy frame stays neat with a hard cut in late winter, which clears the old wood and drives a dense spring flush.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite the plant in full sun in sharp, well-drained soil, in a xeric border, a rock garden, or a large container, and pair with other sun-and-drought lovers such as agastache, penstemons, and warm-season grasses. A rare and quietly distinctive autumn sage, worth seeking out for the white flowers and speckled leaves together on so durable a plant.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057987817587,"sku":"SALV-GREG-RACH-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-1452.jpg?v=1720141090"},{"product_id":"salvia-uliginosa","title":"Salvia uliginosa","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia uliginosa\u003c\/em\u003e, the bog sage, is an airy, sky-blue perennial grown for clouds of clear, cool blue flowers held on tall, slender, branching stems from midsummer into fall. The species name \u003cem\u003euliginosa\u003c\/em\u003e means of marshes, and the plant lives up to it, thriving in the moist ground most sages refuse, so the bog sage fills a niche few others in the genus can.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNative to the wetlands of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, the plant builds a tall, upright, open clump of four to six feet, clothed in narrow, aromatic, bright green leaves. The small flowers are a pure, luminous sky-blue, often with a small white eye, and their airiness lets the bog sage weave through stouter neighbors like a blue haze rather than a solid block of color.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVigor is the thing to watch. In moist, happy ground the bog sage spreads freely by running roots into a broad colony, so give room, a contained bed, or a naturalistic setting where the wandering is welcome. The long run of blue draws bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds through the second half of the season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite \u003cem\u003eSalvia uliginosa\u003c\/em\u003e in full sun to light shade in moist to average soil, at the back of a border, in a rain garden, near a pond or water feature, or in a damp meadow planting, and pair the sky-blue with warm-season grasses, Joe-Pye weed, and the golds of late summer. Stake or let the tall stems lean through companions, and cut the old growth down in late winter. In colder gardens the plant returns from the root, and where it runs too far, simply pull the strays.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057990307955,"sku":"SALV-ULIG-01Q","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-724.jpg?v=1720141093"},{"product_id":"salvia-madrensis-red-neck-girl","title":"Salvia madrensis 'Red Neck Girl'","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia madrensis\u003c\/em\u003e, the forsythia sage, is a big, robust perennial from the mountains of Mexico, grown for a late-season show of soft yellow. Broad, quilted, triangular leaves clothe stout, square, mint-family stems, and in fall the plant lifts terminal clusters of clear yellow flowers that recall a forsythia in bloom and give the sage its common name, an unusual color and a welcome one so late in the year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis selection, named 'Red Neck Girl' by our friend Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery, adds a striking twist: the upper parts of the large square stems flush a deep purple-red, a handsome contrast to the yellow flowers and green leaves. The plant came to Woodlanders through our local friend Linda Christine, a true master gardener, one of those quiet passings-along that keep good plants in circulation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eForsythia sage is a substantial plant, reaching seven or eight feet in a season and spreading into a broad clump, so give it room at the back of a large border. Full sun and good, well-drained soil suit the sage best, and once established the plant divides easily to move or to share with friends. The late yellow flowers draw hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies at a lean time for nectar.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite \u003cem\u003eSalvia madrensis\u003c\/em\u003e 'Red Neck Girl' at the back of a big sunny border, in a bold subtropical planting, or as a late-season specimen, where the height, the red stems, and the forsythia-yellow spikes can all be read together. Pair with warm-season grasses, other tall salvias, and the warm tones of autumn. In zones 7 and 8 the top dies back in winter and returns from the root in spring; cut the old growth down in late winter.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057990668403,"sku":"SALV-MADR-RED-NECK-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-2121.jpg?v=1720141096"},{"product_id":"salvia-leucantha-x-chipensis-phyllis-fancy","title":"Salvia ‘Phyllis Fancy’","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia\u003c\/em\u003e 'Phyllis Fancy' is a vigorous, large hybrid sage with a good pedigree, found as a chance seedling at the University of California, Santa Cruz Arboretum and named for a longtime volunteer there. The parentage is thought to involve \u003cem\u003eSalvia leucantha\u003c\/em\u003e, the Mexican bush sage, and possibly \u003cem\u003eSalvia chiapensis\u003c\/em\u003e, though the cross has never been confirmed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe appeal is in the long-blooming spikes, which carry delicate lavender-white flowers cupped in dark blue-purple calyces, a soft two-tone effect that holds long after the flowers themselves fade. Bloom runs from late summer to frost, bringing color and movement to the garden through the cooler months when much else has finished.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA hardy, evergreen perennial, 'Phyllis Fancy' grows to about four or five feet tall and wide in an attractive mounding habit, the lance-shaped, velvety leaves giving a soft texture that sets off the upright spikes. Hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees all work the long bloom, so the plant earns a place in any pollinator garden.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite \u003cem\u003eSalvia\u003c\/em\u003e 'Phyllis Fancy' in full sun to part shade in well-drained soil, at the back or middle of a large border, in a pollinator planting, or as a bold specimen. Drought tolerant once established, the plant performs best with regular water through dry spells, and is hardy in USDA Zones 7 to 9, taking mild winters in stride though a little protection helps at the cold edge. Photo courtesy of Royal Botanic Gardens.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057990701171,"sku":"SALV-PHYL-FANC-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/SalivaPhyllisFancyRoyalBotanic.png?v=1725922247"},{"product_id":"salvia-mexicana-kelsi","title":"Salvia mexicana \"Kelsi\"","description":"\u003cp\u003eWoodlander's George Mitchell found, named, and propogated. This is brightly varigated form of this large leaf growing sage. It holds up well in sun and produces the same deep violet flowers just before frost.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057990733939,"sku":"SALV-ME-ICAN-KELS-01G","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"salvia-meyeri","title":"Salvia meyeri","description":"\u003cp\u003eLarge growing perennial salvia with relatively large leaves and bushy habit of growth. Pretty terminal racemes of blue flowers. From sunny rocky streamside location. Tucuman Province.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057990799475,"sku":"SALV-MEYE-01G","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"salvia-leucantha-x-elegans-anthony-parker","title":"Salvia leucantha x elegans 'Anthony Parker'","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalvia\u003c\/em\u003e 'Anthony Parker' is a big, late-blooming hybrid sage with a charming South Carolina origin. The plant arose as a chance seedling in the Beaufort garden of the plantswoman Frances Parker, a cross between \u003cem\u003eSalvia leucantha\u003c\/em\u003e 'Midnight' and the pineapple sage \u003cem\u003eSalvia elegans\u003c\/em\u003e, and Frances rescued the young seedling from the path of the mower and named it for her grandson Anthony, then a year old, in 1994. From that lucky reprieve came one of the best late-season salvias for the South.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom late September until frost the plant is covered in foot-long terminal spikes of dark, blue-purple flowers held in near-black purple calyces, a rich and saturated color at a season when it is most welcome. The soft grayish-green leaves carry a light fruity, pineapple scent from the \u003cem\u003eelegans\u003c\/em\u003e parent when brushed, a bonus for a plant sited near a path or a seat.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Anthony Parker' builds a large, dense, bushy clump, four to five feet tall and as wide or wider, so give the plant room at the back of a border. Hummingbirds work the late spikes heavily as they fuel for migration, along with bees and butterflies, and the aromatic foliage is left alone by deer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite the plant in full sun in well-drained soil, at the back of a large border, in a pollinator planting, or as a bold late-season specimen, and pair the dark purple spikes with warm-season grasses, asters, and the golds of fall. In zone 7 and warmer the plant returns from the root; farther north it makes a fast, dramatic annual. Cut the old growth down in late winter.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057991946355,"sku":"SALV-LEUC-ANTH-PARK-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-1331.jpg?v=1720141108"},{"product_id":"salvia-greggii-cherry-queen","title":"Salvia greggii 'Cherry Queen'","description":"\u003cp\u003e'Cherry Queen' is a North Carolina-bred salvia from one of the most important salvia hybridizers America has produced. The cross is a deliberate one, between \u003cem\u003eSalvia greggii\u003c\/em\u003e, the autumn sage of the Texas and Mexican borderlands, prized for drought tolerance and a six-month bloom, and \u003cem\u003eSalvia blepharophylla\u003c\/em\u003e, a Mexican species whose name, eyelash-leaved sage, comes from the tiny fringe of hairs at the edge of each leaf (Greek \u003cem\u003eblepharon\u003c\/em\u003e, eyelash, and \u003cem\u003ephylla\u003c\/em\u003e, leaves). \u003cem\u003eBlepharophylla\u003c\/em\u003e carries the most saturated, signal-bright red flower in the whole genus, but the plant spreads by stolons in ways most gardeners do not want and resents cold winters, while \u003cem\u003egreggii\u003c\/em\u003e brings the bones and the durability. The breeder who put the two together was Dr. Richard \"Rich\" Dufresne of Candor, North Carolina, an organic chemist who became, more or less by accident, the leading American breeder of woody salvias for the eastern climate. Dufresne died in December 2018, leaving a body of work that includes 'Cherry Chief', 'Maraschino', and this selection, which Plant Delights Nursery called the most brilliant red they had ever seen on any hardy salvia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe flower is the show: tubular, two-lipped, about an inch long, in a clean saturated cherry-red, not the deeper crimson of a bottlebrush nor the brick of \u003cem\u003eSalvia greggii\u003c\/em\u003e 'Furman's Red', but a sharp, luminous red that reads from across a garden. Bloom begins early, sometimes on the first warm days of April in zone 8, and continues in waves through summer and into fall, with a heavy push from September into November once the autumn sage genetics take over from the \u003cem\u003eblepharophylla\u003c\/em\u003e spring and summer pattern. In humid Southeastern conditions the plants often bloom without pause from April through hard frost. Hummingbirds find the flowers within hours of the first opening, and bees, butterflies, and beneficial wasps work them heavily all season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe plant is compact and well-mannered, two to three feet tall and about as wide, with a slightly more spreading, semi-prostrate habit than the usual upright autumn sage. The leaves are narrower than most \u003cem\u003egreggii\u003c\/em\u003e selections, dark green and glossy, a \u003cem\u003eblepharophylla\u003c\/em\u003e trait, and carry the small pointed tip that Dufresne named as a diagnostic feature for telling true 'Cherry Queen' from other red-flowered forms in the trade. The foliage is aromatic when crushed, with the soft minty, resinous scent of the woody salvias, lighter than culinary sage. Drought tolerant once established, heat tolerant, and, unusually for a Texas-Mexico salvia, genuinely humidity tolerant, a real advantage in the Southeast where many western sages struggle. Deer and rabbits leave the plant alone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne note on care: like all the woody salvias of the \u003cem\u003egreggii\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003emicrophylla\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003ejamensis\u003c\/em\u003e group, 'Cherry Queen' is not self-cleaning, and spent flower stalks stay on the plant until removed. The standard approach is a hard cut, by half to two-thirds, in late winter, less precision pruning than a clean reset, which clears the dead tops and triggers the spring flush. Left untouched, the plant still blooms and grows, but the frame turns ragged.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a plant for the hummingbird gardener who wants the brightest red salvia available, the Southeastern gardener trying to grow xeric Texas-Mexico sages in real Carolina humidity, the collector building a serious \u003cem\u003eSalvia\u003c\/em\u003e collection, and anyone who would like to grow a piece of Rich Dufresne's quiet legacy at home.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44908016435315,"sku":"SALV-GREG-CHER-QUEE-01G","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/Salviagreggii_CherryQueen_Woodlanders.png?v=1777501047"}],"url":"https:\/\/woodlanders.net\/collections\/salvias.oembed?page=2","provider":"Woodlanders","version":"1.0","type":"link"}