Long-blooming salvias are saviors in the autumn garden. So when Gravetye Manor’s head gardener Tom Coward met me in a pair of shorts in October, I might have twigged to the semi-tropical splendor in store for me in Sussex (an hour’s train ride away from London). A second before, I’d stepped out of a 16th-century manor into a low-angled ray of golden sun. Backlit magenta dahlias glowed from the borders and a hot pink haze of salvia surrounded them.
I’d raced to make it to Gravetye before dark, so I barely had dropped my bags and grabbed my notebook before Tom found me blinking, agog, shamefully stumped at the genus level in 40 seconds flat: “What salvia…?”
Here’s a cheat sheet I compiled—with suggestions from both Gravetye and Dyson’s Nursery at the Great Comp Garden in Kent—to help you choose the right Salvia (commonly known as ornamental sage), a warm-climate perennial and a fast-growing annual in colder growing zones, to add color to a late-season border:
Photography by Christin Geall.
Salvia Curviflora
![Saturated salvia shines in autumn’s low-angled light. At left, Salvia curviflora at Gravetye, with the dahlia ‘Magenta Star’.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/salvias-tone-path-gravetye-christin-geall-733x612.jpg)
While Tom spoke, I jotted down a list of salvias to plant for late-season color in a border, starting with the cerise wonder I’d swooned over walking out of the manor’s heavy oak door: Salvia curviflora, with a lipstick-perfect trout pout.
![Tall and stately Salvia curviflora with Verbena macdougalii ’Lavender Spires’ at Gravetye.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/verbena-salvia-gravetye-733x489.jpg)
A native of Mexico, Salvia curviflora has a dramatically curved flower and is a perennial in USDA zones 8 to 11.
Salvia Leucantha
![With Salvia curviflora in the double border at Gravetye, fuzzy purple and white Salvia leucantha blooms at right.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/gravetye-double-border-733x489.jpg)
Commonly known as Mexican bush sage, Salvia Leucantha establishes quickly; a shrub quickly will grow to a height and diameter of 5 feet.
![Salvia leucantha](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/salvia-leucantha-e1508892628209-733x1100.jpg)
Salvia Confertiflora
![Gravetye senior gardener Stuart Lambert carries cuts of the Brazilian native Salvia confertiflora to the house florists.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/salvia-confertiflora-733x506.jpg)
In other borders, Salvia confertiflora towered above tall Tagetes (French marigolds) and the crimson Dahlia ‘Dove Grove’. The confertiflora is a tender but spectacular plant, growing to a height of more than 5 feet in a season.
Coward uses salvias to provide late-season interest in the borders. Their rich colors play well with other strong autumn colors: deep yellows, oranges, and pinks. Their forms, from upright sub-shrubs to smaller edging plants, extend their versatility.
Salvia ‘Phyllis’ Fancy’
![Salvia ‘Phyllis\2\17; Fancy’ at Gravetye with Diascia personata, both flowering into late October.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/salvia-phyllis-fancy-e1508798220662-733x1100.jpg)
Named to honor a long-time volunteer at the University of California’s Santa Cruz Arboretum, Salvia ‘Phyllis’ Fancy’ was discovered on the California coast. Probably a cross of Salvia leucantha and Salvia chiapensis, ‘Phyllis Fancy’ flowers are a strong lure for pollinator insects and hummingbirds.
Salvia Involucrata
![Salvia involucrata ‘Bethellili’ at Gravetye.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/gravetye-october-733x1100.jpg)
![Salvia involucrata ‘Bethellili’ at Gravetye.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/salvia-involucrata-733x1100.jpg)
Growing tips from our recent post Gardening 101: Salvias: “Salvias thrive in arid conditions, appreciating free-draining soil,” writes Kendra.
“With regular deadheading, they can flower from late spring until the first frosts.”
![Propagate salvias from semi-ripe stems in late summer. These young plants at Gravteye were started from cuttings taken in late August. They will be held in \2-liter pots under glass over the winter.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/gravteye-prop-house-733x489.jpg)
To learn more, I headed to Dyson’s Nursery at the Great Comp Garden in Kent, which specializes in salvias. There, in the hazy mists of autumn, I was struck again at how the singe of salvias cheers.
Salvia ‘Ember’s Wish’
![The coral Salvia \2\16;Ember\2\17;s Wish’ harmonizes with fall foliage at Dyson’s Nursery in Kent, England.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/salvia-embers-e1508801368637-733x1100.jpg)
The Salvia genus contains more than 900 species. The species and cultivars of interest to gardeners (for their long-flowering period and color) generally hail from the southern US, Mexico, and through Central America into Brazil. As such, they are generally tender or half-hardy and require winter protection.
Salvia ‘Love and Wishes’
![Salvia ‘Love and Wishes’ at the Great Comp Garden in Kent, England. With burgundy calyces and stems, this salvia is a great choice for a pot or planter given its tidy habit and long-flowering period from June to November.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/love-and-wishes-calyces-e1508800521486-733x1100.jpg)
N.B.: See more ideas to extend the flowering season well into autumn:
- Salvia: A Field Guide to Planting, Care, and Design.
- The Ultimate UK Getaway: 1 Hour From London, But a World Away at Gravetye Manor.
- Color Theory: 10 Perfect Plant Combinations for Autumn.
Finally, get more ideas on how to successfully plant, grow, and care for salvia with our Salvia: A Field Guide.
Finally, get more ideas on how to plant, grow, and care for various perennial plants with our Perennials: A Field Guide.
Have a Question or Comment About This Post?
Join the conversation