Talking Super Sage Varieties With The Victorian Salvia Study Group
Reviewed By ROY NICOL
Roy is a Professional Gardener and Horticultural Consultant, specialising in large garden year-round maintenance and garden development. He is an RHS Master of Horticulture and uses his research in the application of no-dig methods in ornamental garden settings. Roy has been a Professional Gardener for more than six years and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, Professional Gardener's Guild and Association of Professional Landscapers (Professional Gardener).
Contributions From VICKI WESTON
Owner of Weston's Salvias, Vicki has been nursing and selling plants online for 10 years from her home in West Wales, near the coast of Cardigan Bay. She offers nearly 100 salvia varieties for sale, has been featured in various online publications and has delivered talks to various clubs up and down the country.
Lyndi was one of the founding members of the Victorian Salvia Study Group when it was set up around 20 years ago, after previously being a member of the Victorian Herb Society. She now works as Coordinator for the study group - a role she has held since 2013. Previously, Lyndi also worked as a Landscape Designer.
IN THIS GUIDE
- Expert-Chosen Varieties
- 1) S. argentea
- 2) S. spathacea
- 3) S. oxyphora
- 4) S. ‘Royal Bumble’
- 5) S. ‘Jezebel’
- 6) S. x jamensis ‘Raspberry Royale’
- 7) S. ‘Hot Lips’
- 8) S. ‘Clotted Cream’
- 9) S. splendens ‘Vanguard’
- 10) S. officinalis ‘Tricolor’
- 11) S. nemorosa ‘Caradonna’
- 12) S. rosmarinus ‘Green Ginger’
- 13) S. sylvestris ‘May Night’
- 14) S. microphylla ‘Heatwave Glimmer’
- References
Salvias produce flowers that are easy on the eye and there are well over 1,000 accepted species to choose from, according to Kew.1Salvia L. (n.d.). Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30000096-2#children
With this in mind, it can be hard to know where to start.
Luckily, we’ve got you covered, as we share some favourites from Lyndi Garnett, the Founder and Coordinator of the Victorian Salvia Study Group.
We also share 14 favourites (with pictures) from our editorial team.
Expert-Chosen Varieties
“Salvias are incredibly diverse, they grow all over the world from coastal South Africa to the high Andes,” says Vicki Weston, owner of Weston’s Salvias.
“They are very varied in form and colour so I’m never going to get bored! 600 species and hundreds more varieties of these have been bred over the last twenty years.
“They are also extremely long flowering, blooming from late May until the frosts, very low maintenance and beneficial bees and bugs love them.”
We asked Vicki to share some of her favourite varieties.
“Asking me my favourite salvia is a bit like asking me who my favourite child is!” she jokes.
Her top picks included the hardy varieties:
- S. ‘Royal Bumble’ (scarlet, pictured below)
- S. ‘Flower Child’ (pink)
- S. ‘Nachtvlinder’ (purple, pictured above)
- S. × jamensis ‘Javier’ (violet)
- S. uliginosa (blue, pictured above)
And some tender salvias that Vicki loves are:
- S. involucrata (pink, pictured below)
- S. fulgens (red)
- S. corrugata (purple)
“There are too many to have favourites,” agrees Lyndi Garnett.
However: “In summer, I like all the small-leaf Salvia microphylla and S. greggii types because of all their bright colours.”
“When autumn comes around, all the cerise and crimson flowers contrast beautifully with the purples and bright blues and, in winter, all the tall large leaf varieties come to life, some reaching up to 4m in height and spread.
“Then all the herbaceous varieties burst forth and the small-leaf salvias come to life, and so it begins again.”
A medley of Lyndi’s other top picks include:
S. madrensis
S. involucrata
S. wagneriana
And if these aren’t enough, we sample 14 additional varieties below – a hand-picked mix of the popular and the rare in all colours of the rainbow.
1) S. argentea
- COMMON NAME(S): silver sage
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FOLIAGE: grey and silver
- FOLIAGE TYPE: semi-evergreen
- FLOWERS: white
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer
- SUNLIGHT: full sun
- EXPOSURE: exposed / sheltered
With a height of about 90cm and a 50cm spread, ‘Silver Sage’ is a very tidy plant in more ways than one.
The ‘argentea’ or ‘silver’ in its name refers to the cool, patently silvery-green shade of its leaves that are irregularly ovate and sport thread-like hairs.
The flowers are white and are produced during a shortish season in late summer.
This species has received the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
2) S. spathacea
- COMMON NAME(S): pitcher sage
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FOLIAGE: green
- FOLIAGE TYPE: deciduous
- FLOWERS: red and pink
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SUNLIGHT: full sun
- EXPOSURE: sheltered
Among the most unusual and sparklingly colourful of salvias, pitcher sage comes in at a height and spread of just under 1m.
The leaves are like oblong arrows, amusingly crinkled, and quite aromatic.
They are purplish-pink with a purplish-maroon understructure.
This species is also a recipient of the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
3) S. oxyphora
- COMMON NAME(S): fuzzy Bolivian sage
- HARDINESS RATING: H3
- FOLIAGE: green
- FOLIAGE TYPE: semi-evergreen
- FLOWERS: pink and red
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SUNLIGHT: full sun / partial shade
- EXPOSURE: sheltered
Rising up to 1.5m in height, frost-tender Fuzzy Bolivian Sage gets its name not from its foliage, but, from its flowers, as the 4cm nub-like blooms are covered in a fine fuzz.
They are a bright pink to cherry red and are borne in spikes, the overall effect being uniquely decorative.
These blooms are seen from midsummer into autumn.
This delightful and rare import also features brilliant green leaves that are oval-to-lanceolate.
4) S. ‘Royal Bumble’
- COMMON NAME(S): sage ‘royal bumble’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FOLIAGE: green with purple stems
- FOLIAGE TYPE: evergreen
- FLOWERS: red
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer
- SUNLIGHT: full sun
- EXPOSURE: sheltered
With a bushy habit emphasised by the roughly equal dimensions of its height and spread of about 75cm, ‘Royal Bumble’ is an exceptionally popular cultivar.
The foliage is deliciously aromatic and is of a brilliant, almost vivid, green shade.
The clawed flowers are awesomely-coloured, being rich vermilion with gradations into orange and red.
These vibrant flowers bloom from late spring to early autumn and the variety has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
5) S. ‘Jezebel’
- COMMON NAME(S): sage ‘jezebel’
- HARDINESS RATING: H3
- FOLIAGE: green
- FOLIAGE TYPE: evergreen
- FLOWERS: red
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): spring / summer / autumn
- SUNLIGHT: full sun
- EXPOSURE: sheltered
‘Jezebel’ produces larger-than-average bright red flowers displayed on racemes.
Additional charms include the ovate leaves which are petite and of a rich, deep green shade and the extended blooming season that starts in late spring and finishes in mid-autumn.
It grows to about 90cm and is (yet another) recipient of the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
6) S. x jamensis ‘Raspberry Royale’
- COMMON NAME(S): sage ‘raspberry royale’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FOLIAGE: green
- FOLIAGE TYPE: evergreen
- FLOWERS: red
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SUNLIGHT: full sun
- EXPOSURE: sheltered
Continuing with the red theme and presenting another cultivar that is true to its name, ‘Raspberry Royale’ features perfect raspberry-red flowers.
They are double-lipped and, although on the small side, occur in spellbinding abundance on racemes, and are even produced over a lengthy blooming season from summer into autumn.
This sub-shrub has greyish-green lanceolate leaves that are very pleasantly aromatic.
7) S. ‘Hot Lips’
- COMMON NAME(S): sage ‘hot lips’
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FOLIAGE: green
- FOLIAGE TYPE: evergreen
- FLOWERS: white and red
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SUNLIGHT: full sun
- EXPOSURE: sheltered
One of those red hot hit varieties, ‘Hot Lips’ is supremely popular.
At an equal height and spread of about 1m, this bushy plant’s foliage does not even get a second billing as the flowers steal the show.
The clawed blooms are a brilliant red in the early part of the season and often come up white when the show closes in late autumn.
However, in mid-season, they are at their bi-coloured best, displaying a bright red and hard white.
8) S. ‘Clotted Cream’
- COMMON NAME(S): sage ‘clotted cream’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FOLIAGE: green
- FOLIAGE TYPE: deciduous
- FLOWERS: cream
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SUNLIGHT: full sun
- EXPOSURE: sheltered
A deciduous perennial that reaches up to 70cm tall and has a bushy habit, ‘Clotted Cream’ has deep green ovate leaves that are remarkably aromatic.
The clawed and lipped flowers are a rich creamy white colour.
Their blooming habits are variable, but they will certainly bloom throughout the summer months.
9) S. splendens ‘Vanguard’
- COMMON NAME(S): scarlet-flowered sage ‘vanguard’
- HARDINESS RATING: H3
- FOLIAGE: green and red
- FOLIAGE TYPE: deciduous
- FLOWERS: red
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SUNLIGHT: full sun
- EXPOSURE: exposed / sheltered
A clump-forming, upright cultivar that grows to a mere 30cm in height, ‘Vanguard’ is a tender but wonderfully floriferous variety.
In summer it bears lush spikes of scarlet flowers, which it keeps producing until some time in autumn.
Reddish bracts emphasise the brilliant red colourations of this joyfully decorative variety.
This variety has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
10) S. officinalis ‘Tricolor’
- COMMON NAME(S): sage ‘tricolor’
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FOLIAGE: cream, green, grey, silver and purple
- FOLIAGE TYPE: evergreen
- FLOWERS: blue
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer
- SUNLIGHT: full sun
- EXPOSURE: sheltered
Though it produces pretty little blue flowers in summer, Tricolor’ is a salvia that is desirable for its very ornamental foliage.
Those 3 colours with which the variegated and aromatic leaves are decorated are shades of green, cream, and rose-purple, the last hue appearing usually only on young leaves.
What’s more, it is a hardy evergreen so you can enjoy this plant’s beautiful foliage even in the grey of winter.
11) S. nemorosa ‘Caradonna’
- COMMON NAME(S): Balkan clary ‘caradonna’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FOLIAGE: grey, green and silver
- FOLIAGE TYPE: deciduous
- FLOWERS: purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer
- SUNLIGHT: full sun / partial shade
- EXPOSURE: exposed / sheltered
A super-hardy perennial, ‘Caradonna’ is surely salvia royalty.
Immensely popular, its flowers are a lustrous royal purple verging on violet.
These small but brilliant blooms are held aloft on spiky racemes and are seen for the better part of summer.
It reaches a touch under 50cm and has greyish-green foliage.
12) S. rosmarinus ‘Green Ginger’
- COMMON NAME(S): rosemary ‘green ginger’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FOLIAGE: green
- FOLIAGE TYPE: evergreen
- FLOWERS: white and blue
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): spring / summer / autumn
- SUNLIGHT: full sun
- EXPOSURE: exposed / sheltered
Leading the way among the edible sages is, of course, rosemary, and ‘Green Ginger’ is one of the best picks among the many shrubby evergreen cultivars.
It is a bushy plant that grows to nearly 1m in height.
The narrow leaves are deliciously aromatic and make for an unbeatable kitchen herb.
It produces lovely pale blue and white flowers in clusters from late spring to the end of summer.
13) S. sylvestris ‘May Night’
- COMMON NAME(S): wood sage ‘mainacht’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FOLIAGE: green
- FOLIAGE TYPE: deciduous
- FLOWERS: blue
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer
- SUNLIGHT: full sun
- EXPOSURE: exposed / sheltered
‘May Night’ is a super-hardy deciduous perennial that rises up to 1m and around half the spread.
Its aromatic foliage is of that cool, deep, greyish-green hue that typifies the sages.
It produces flowers all through the summer that are borne thickly on racemes and are of a brilliant purple hue that catches and holds the eye.
Another recipient of the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
14) S. microphylla ‘Heatwave Glimmer’
- COMMON NAME(S): sage ‘heatwave glimmer’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FOLIAGE: green and purple
- FOLIAGE TYPE: evergreen
- FLOWERS: cream
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SUNLIGHT: full sun
- EXPOSURE: sheltered
A shrubby evergreen with a bushy habit and a height and spread of 1m, ‘Heatwave Glimmer’ displays colour in unexpected places: it has visibly purplish stems and sepals, and young leaves are often also tipped or tinged with purple.
In contrast, the clawed flowers that resemble birds are creamy white, often with a pink flush.
These classy, refined blooms appear from early summer and clear into autumn.
