Salvia, Baby Sage, Blackcurrant Sage, Delta Sage, Graham's Sage, Little Leaf Sage 'Hot Lips'

On Apr 11, 2017, lsjogren from Vancouver, WA wrote:

I planted some "microphylla red" salvias, not the "hot lips" but I think probably virtually the same plant except all red flowers.

I planted them in the spring of 2016 in an area I was planting to be a hummingbird garden. I am in Portland, OR metro area, zone 8.

They grew vigorously in the summer, they looked great, and they were probably the most favorite flower of the hummingbirds.

But now in spring of 2017 they do not show much sign of life. Only a few remaining leaves on the existing branches, and no new growth coming up out of the ground.

I have had this same problem with two other salvias- Nuevo Leon and Indigo Spires. The nursery I got the Indigo Spires at said some years they don't survive the winter, so that one I wa... read mores not surprised about. But I thought the microphylla and the Nuevo Leon were hardy enough to survive the winters here.

You do see quite a bit inconsistency in what zone different nurseries claim these are good to. But they all say these are good to at least zone 8 and most plants rated to zone 8 have done just fine for me. But these seem to be less cold hardy than one might think.

I have a couple Salvias that are rated a lot more cold hardy that seem to be coming up fine- Cardonna and East Friesland. However, I find the Microphyllas and Nuevo Leons more attractive. But they don't appear to be able to handle our climate.

On Jan 29, 2016, Ancolie88 from Innsbruck,
Austria (Zone 6b) wrote:

Salvia "Hot Lips" is one of my favourite sages and in some years its hardy here in Innsbruck/Tyrol... which I never thought woul be possible

On Jun 10, 2015, CaliFaerie from Pasadena, CA wrote:

My one plant is about 2 years old now and is _covered_ in red, white, and red-and-white flowers. I trimmed it back about a month ago and it started flowering even more. There's almost always at least one hummingbird hovering around it. It's near a north facing wall, so gets no sun in the winter but is blasted by the worst of the valley summer heat, but it doesn't seem to mind, and it can go months without watering. Highly recommend for my zone.

On Jun 26, 2013, dirob2 from Sutherlin, OR wrote:

I live in western Oregon and when we moved into the house Hot Lips was in the garden. We enjoyed it very much for a few years and then one spring it was dead. We had no idea the name or plant type and searched for the last couple years online and at the stores. I tried describing it on online forums and no one came up with this plant. Today I found one at the local store. Now I know the name and if it should die back again I can replace it. We had had a harder winter than normal the year it died. We are zone 8ish. The bees just loved it and we are working hard to encourage the pollinators around us to be happy with all the bee die-offs and such so it is an important addition to our garden.

On May 9, 2013, blumz from Trussville, AL (Zone 8a) wrote:

Hot lips salvia is one of the most beautiful plants in my gardens. It is evergreen in my area - 8a. I had to move it a couple of times because it grew larger than the tag said. Each time I moved it, I cut it back and it came back more beautiful than before. So I now just make a practice of cutting it back to about 1-1/2 feet in early spring. It is full, lush and gorgeous. Grows to about 3-1/2 to 4 ft. tall and wide for me. Hummers love it and everyone who visits my gardens fall in love with it.

On May 2, 2013, loovejonesx from Durham, NC wrote:

Have had this flower for at least 6 years now around my mailbox here in zone 7b & it really seems to do better when it's ignored. There are years that it comes back with loads of buds, & years that it does nominally well, BUT IT ALWAYS PUT ON A PRETTY GOOD SHOW. I get white flowers, red flowers & the trademark red & white mix & it seems to thrive on hot days.

On Apr 25, 2011, carlipop from Stromsburg, NE wrote:

I purchased a hot lips salvia last summer and love it! I live in Zone 5 so wasn't sure how the plant would do, but was pleasantly surprised when it grew to about 3 foot tall and consistently bloomed until early October when I pruned it and dug it up to bring inside for the winter. I currently have it waiting patiently for spring in my basement with sunlight coming in through a south window. It has new growth and is ready to bloom again! I would absolutely recommend this plant for other gardeners in Nebraska! It is beautiful.

On Mar 14, 2011, tulpen from Los Angeles, CA wrote:

I have a variety of different colored salvias including this one in my garden. They add beautiful color, butterflies, bees and hummingbirds love them (very important to me) once established they require low water and maintenance. I do prune regularly (but easy too) to keep them in shape and I think it encourages blooming. Also they don't require "fancy" soil and I personally don't fertilize even though that might be good. Sun to part/shade but the more sun the better. A favorite for me!

On Mar 14, 2011, sllawrence from Kerrville, TX wrote:

I have an established (4 year old) 'Hot Lips' salvia in the NW area of my garden in the Texas Hill Country. This past winter (2011), we had abnormally low and extended, dry hard freezes of 9 degrees, with windchills into the (minus) -2 degrees. This plant suffered cold damage but did not die back to the ground, and is coming back very nicely now.

One note of caution, this plant spreads! It puts out underground runners in an attempt to takeover a large area of the garden. I have been using the new clumps as passalong plants. I also add that I have had the occasional solid white and solid red bloom on this plant, as well as the bicolor 'hot lips' red and white. Intense heat doesn't faze it.

On Oct 20, 2010, bbshouse from Billings, MT wrote:

I haven't seen this plant since I moved here from Texas in 1994. So I was excited when I was given 8 of these plants in April. The truck they had been on froze overnight. The store had thrown them away because they looked dead. A friend that worked there "rescued" them and brought them to me. I planted them, cut the dead branches back to the ground and watered them. Within 2 weeks they were blooming and now are 3 ft tall and approx 2-4 ft wide. They've bloomed non stop since May. I'm interested to see how they survive our Montana winter. If they come back next spring, I'll be dividing them next fall to share with all my friends.

On Apr 17, 2010, HalfKneegrow from Oakland, CA wrote:

We grow this plant at my job in Berkeley, Ca and it does great, in ALL DAY sun. Gave it as a gift and it does great in San Francisco also, with much less sun. ..and those flowers? fuhgeduhboutit!

On Oct 21, 2009, Mr_LeFleur from Bothell, WA wrote:

A humming bird came to get nectar from the flowers just moments after I planted it:)
I haven't seen a humming bird up close in years.
The blooms are also bright and last a long time.
I can't wait to have a whole field of it in the future:)

On Nov 19, 2006, Marilynbeth from Hebron, KY wrote:

Grew it for the first time this season (found it at Lowe's) and I love it! It got more beautiful as season progressed. I don't know if I'll get any volunteers from it, but if it doesn't winter over, then I'll have to look and find another.

On Jun 8, 2006, ineedacupoftea from Denver, CO wrote:

10F? Not true. A friend outside of town (average ten degrees cooler in the winter) on a windy hill grows her Salvia 'Hot Lips' in a Xeric Garden. I waited curiously over winter to see if they would return; Two of two have indeed survived a winter that saw at least 0F on her hill. Dry winters may help.

It blooms well with little water. Summer heat (100F+) and drought are not impairments. Most flowers are nearly pure carmine, some are "lipped."

On Aug 23, 2005, grikdog from St. Paul, MN (Zone 4a) wrote:

I just tried this this year. It does well in pots. I also took several cuttings this August which rooted almost immediately.

On May 24, 2004, clantonnaomi from Iredell, TX wrote:

This plant is definitely hardy in Zone 8 - central Texas. I have had mine for a couple of years and they have not even died back to the ground. A wonderful salvia and the red and white blooms are so unusual!

On Jan 3, 2004, poozak from New Braunfels, TX wrote:

What a great plant in Deer Country. I drove away from our one gallon, planted a year ago and we never did a thing to keep it alive during the six month's absence. Big bushy three-footer now. I love this plant and plan to grow a bunch of it. Have fun! P.