Salvia splendensScarlet Sage

The Salvia splendens, or Scarlet Sage, is the bedding salvia behind most large blocks of red in public planting. Upright spikes carry tubular flowers held in coloured calyces, so the display holds its intensity long after the individual flowers have gone over, and it keeps producing for months.

It is a Brazilian perennial grown almost everywhere as seasonal bedding, planted in tight blocks on roundabouts, in civic beds and along entrance frontages.

Specifications

• Height0.25 to 0.6 metres in bedding selections, with the species reaching 1.5 metres
• Width0.25 to 0.4 metres
• Native toBrazil
• FoliageOpposite, ovate, toothed bright green leaves on square stems
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilPrefers fertile, free-draining soils that hold moisture
• LightFull sun to partial shade
• WaterModerate to regular; the display falls away under water stress
• ClimateThrives in tropical to warm temperate regions and is planted as seasonal bedding elsewhere

Additional Features

• FlowersDense upright spikes of scarlet tubular flowers held in coloured calyces, over a long season
• UsesIdeal for seasonal mass bedding and colour blocks, civic beds, roundabout displays and container planting
• SpacingPlant 0.2 to 0.3 metres apart for a solid block of colour
• Low MaintenanceDeadhead spent spikes to extend the display and replace the bed at the end of the season
• Pest ResistanceGenerally sound, with whitefly and aphid the usual concerns
• Wildlife AttractionThe tubular flowers draw sunbirds, hummingbirds and butterflies
• Seasonal AppealColour holds for months because the calyces stay bright after the flowers drop

Scarlet Sage delivers the most saturated block of red available at bedding scale, and it holds it for a full season.