PlantFiles: Autumn Sage, Cherry Sage, Gregg's Sage, Texas Sage
Salvia greggii

Magnets for butterflies and hummingbirds!

I live in the St. Louis, MO region (6a) and have owned this plant for many years. When I moved 6 years ago I moved a plant that had already lived in my former back yard for at least 3 years. I have a newer plant in an area which gets all day sun but is not protected from northern winds in the winter. It has come back 2 years now. Never watered during our 12 days of over 100 degree temps and no rain; it still lives. Very long blooming. Attracts hummingbirds (red variety that is) and butterflies. Doesn't seem to be fussy about soil quality.

Self sows freely here . Hummingbirds love them . I have about every color out there and a few that I have pollinated myself to create new color variations . a fun plant that deer avoid . and always has a hummingbird or butterfly visiting .

Salvia greggii looks like it dies back to "sticks" in the Arlington, VA winter, but it really acts like a deciduous perennial. It has come back strongly for three years. Requires some cutting back before it leafs out.

I planted a small autumn sage last spring, and it has performed beautifully . It bloomed throughout the summer of 2010, even surviving our week long heat wave of 103degree days scorching everything else. I love this plant. Now to my surprise, it has already started another beautiful bloom surge, even in early March!

Salvia greggii is pretty foolproof in Southern California. I cut my plants back by about 30 percent in December (our rainy season) to keep them compact. Nevertheless, they tend to get woody and unproductive after a few years and are best replaced. Cuttings root easily and plants grow quickly.

Cherry sage has been surviving pretty well under xeric conditions (about 3 to 5 gallons of water per week) here in northwestern New Mexico (USDA zone 6B; Sunset zone 3A) at an elevation above 5000' but it dies back to ground in most winters. Consequently, I've not seen plants reach the 3 to 4 feet height reported from more southern climes. It is used extensively in local urban landscapes here.

Here in OKC this plant seems to be doing extremely well in my garden and in the gardens of others. I have three, two in full sun on the south side of my house and one on the north side in afternoon only sun. The one on the north side suffered damage from our unusually harsh winter and an enthusiastic large dog, but it is coming back slowly. All have excellent drainage.
It is difficult to raise many plants in western exposures in OKC because the heat and dry southerly winds in midsummer are so intense. However, the various sages, many prairie types of plants (cone flower, coreopsis, Black Eyed Susans, etc.), several types of ornamental grasses, yaupon holly, yucca, and sedum do fine. Some varieties of Mediterranean plants--oregano, rosemary, and lavender--can be grown here but all need excellent drainage. Knockout roses are much appreciated here as well!
I had been told that Pink Preference Autumn Sage is the most reliable in terms of surviving winter, but customers in the nursery where I work say other colors are surviving just fine as well.
I think the key with all good xeriscaping plants is good drainage. Unamended clay on a flat surface holds water. Poor drainage, especially in winter, is a killer.

A favorite for all the reasons already stated. Question: should I fertile/ add some cow manure to soil to enhance more flowers??? Usually when plants flower a lot they also require "food." Thanks! Susan

I LOVE this plant! So do the hummers! One of the specimens is growing on an exposed slope on the northwest side of my house in somewhat amended clay. It grows in well-drained clay! It has become a shrub, probably around 4 ft square. It starts flowering in early April and doesn't quit till frost. Doesn't blink at our heat and humidity and gets full sun all day.

'Flame' cultivar performed so well in my western garden that I purchased the 'rose pink' cultivar for my eastern garden to replace a nuisance 'black-and-blue sage'. 'flame' has handled a late frost, a severe hail storm and the Texas heat amazingly. 'flame' is more like a hot-pink (purplish base tint) color while the 'rose pink' appears to have more of a salmon pink color to me. Both are beautiful with many flowers on the 2-3' stalks. 'flame' lost a few leaves during winter but bushed out quickly in spring heat. Both are used as short hedges against the house in my gardens. Hummingbirds like these too!

This was one of the loveliest sages in our garden last summer, and it never noticed it was flowering in awful heat & humidity - just bloomed and bloomed in partial shade for the amusement of hummingbirds till frost.

I recently received a pack of mixed Salvia greggii seeds from the North American Rock Garden Society

1) Sow at 70*F with seeds wrapped in barely moist coffee filter inside baggy. Germination occurred in 10 - 20 days.

2) Regarding the Salvia genus in general, DG Annette68 said, "It is very true about surface sowing salvia seeds, they need light to germinate, they have to be surface sown."

I love Salvia greggii's! They bloom early and long in the season. They are different varieties and colors to pick from the list of greggii's.

I found "Hot Lips" and "Maraschino" autumn sage last year at our local arboretum's plant sale. It does NOT need full sun in this hot, very humid climate. I planted them under a dogwood so that they got afternoon filtered sunlight and they went to town & bloomed vigorously all summer on 36-inch gracefully arching stems. Unfortunately, the nurseries around here don't know this plant. I'm trying to spread the word.

I have a salvia greggii that is about three years old growing in Tulsa,OK. It has been blooming since earlier this year and will bloom until fall. I took cuttings this past spring. I placed them in styrofoam cups with potting soil. They are now about twelve inches tall and ready to be transplanted. The plant is easily propagated from cuttings.

Blooms year-round. Produces seed but I have never had it self-sow. A friend of mine in Tucson says his self-sow all of the time. I think the difference is in our watering practices. He waters briefly every day and I water for a long time once a week or every other week.

Mine is named 'Red', I albsolutely love the color, it is intense!

Evergreen at 5500' in New Mexico - very popular here in Albuquerque.

Here in the harsh west Texas environment, Salvia greggi is a garden blessing! I have red, white and pink in the garden, and they bloom all summer, even in the excruciating heat. Mine reseed freely.

Tough to grow at 7000' in New Mexico (10" average annual rainfall). Dies back to the ground every winter, 50% of new plantings die every year. Beautiful plant, hummingbirds love it, but the mountains are tough on it. Mine have never set seed, I readily propagate via softwood cuttings. Still looking for altitude-adapted cultivar.

I totally agree with all the good reports on this plant and I find it extremely easy to propagate. The hummingbirds and butterflies are crazy about the flowers and bring us a lot of joy.
Salvia gregii is Endemic to Texas.

If you love to watch hummingbirds and butterflies, this is an excellent plant. And this Salvia propogates quite easily. I've given 'babies' to family members and friends.

I had no knowledge of the plant name or habitat when I obtained it. Therefore, I planted it in a half sun location since Florida sun is more excruciating to plants than other areas. It proved successful, and has gone from a small 6 inch twig to just shy of 5ft tall by 3 1/2 ft wide beauty. I have it in rich black soil that's heavily mulched. I have easily propagated it by snapping branches and replanting them in like soil and keeping them in shady areas for a couple of weeks. I found the name from a neighborhood nursery that had some in the red (mine is pink) and from there have added the reds to my garden. I love it and nicknamed it my fairy bush.

Plant is also perennial in zone 5.

San Antonio, TX
For hot, dry, sunny areas, it is one of the toughest, most beautiful performers. It blooms from March till frost with the most prolific blooming in spring and fall. Cut it back by half twice a year (mid February and mid June) to keep it low growing and dense. It is one of the most frequently planted native Texas plants. Preferring full sun, it does not bloom as well in partial or filtered shade and becomes leggy. Light green leaves indicate a need for fertilizer. Hummingbirds love this plant. Pull off a bloom and suck the nectar and you will see why they do!

In February when I had cabin fever, I saw a beautiful specimen in full bloom at a garden center. To the side were some non-blooming identical plants, so I bought two non-blooming ones instead of one blooming plant..I set them out immediately and within one week both were blooming. They are very happily blooming away and have only been watered by occasional rain showers. The hummingbirds love this plant, the redder the flowers, the better. It is very enjoyable to walk by and see the cheerful tubular blooms.