Salvias are a great genus of hardy flowering plants that come in a variety of sizes. There are perennial and annual types, and the flower colour range is vast.
Ranging in size from 30cm to a big 3m, there’s a salvia species or cultivar to suit everyone and almost every position in the garden, as long as it’s sunny. The smaller growing varieties lend themselves well to pot culture and even hanging baskets.
The Flowers
Salvia’s colour range is white, all shades of pink, indigo, blue and purple, red, apricot, cerise, dark orange, yellow, bicolour and more.
The flowers bring colour to the garden or patio all year round if multiple varieties and cultivars are grown. The blooms can also be used as a cut flower, and they’re even edible.
The flowers of salvias attract bees, butterflies and many species of beneficial insects to your garden and even small nectar eating bird species.
How to grow
- Full sun to at least half a day of sun.
- Free draining soil and good levels of organic matter should be added to the soil at planting, such as
ActivGrow Soil Improver. - If growing in pots use Rocky Point Premium Potting Mix.
- Prune perennial forms after flowering to maintain bushy growth. Annual varieties can be cut back hard at the end of flowering, this way you may even get a second flowering.
- Fertilise on a regular basis for optimal flowering with a fertiliser that has good levels of potassium
and other trace elements. Side dressings can be added during the growing season of ActivGrow Organic Fertiliser Pellets.
Did you know... The culinary herb sage is a salvia? Salvia officinalis
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