Salvia Species, Harvest Sage, Red Velvet Sage, Sabra Spike Sage

This sage gets to be much taller than stated. Mine is over five feet tall and it's barely blooming. I lost one plant i started a year ago...Read More to a fungus of some kind that caused the leaves to wilt from the lower stem upward. The two i have now are growing nicely. Very interesting flowers and quite fragrant leaves! This is a wonderful addition to any Salvia collection!

It makes a relative large 3-5 foot shrubby and uninteresting bush for most of the year (in uk, zone 9) and doesnt start flowing until aug...Read Moreust here. The flowers are nice, exotic looking, and continue in to november until the first couple of frosts but the plant isnt that hardy. Im in the mildest part of the uk and one plant made it through the winter in a pot next to a wall, the other in the ground died (min temp we had was -4c).

Although its nice when in flower, i feel its a bit overrated at the moment in the uk where its in all the big gardens.
if you have the space then its worth growing but if not then there are longer flowering and hardier salvias which deserve the space more.

UPDATE

Blooms almost all year-round and is beloved by hummingbirds. Unlike a lot of salvias, will bloom very well in part shade. Benefits from ...Read Moreyearly pruning to keep it from getting too woody and leggy.