Perennial or annual
How to grow salvias
Salvia nemorosa, S. × jamensis and others
Salvias want full sun and free-draining soil that is not rich; plant them in April or May. How you treat them afterwards depends on the type. Hardy Salvia nemorosa is cut to the base after its June flush and flowers again in August. Shrubby salvias such as 'Hot Lips' keep their stems over winter and are cut back by half in April. Tender kinds such as 'Amistad' and Salvia patens need a deep mulch, or cuttings taken in late summer, to see them through.
- Hardiness
- Hardy to half-hardy by species
- Position
- Full sun
- Soil
- Free-draining, not too rich
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.5
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- Moderate feeder
Sowing and planting salvias
WhenPlant Apr to May; flowers Jun to Oct; cut back Mar to Apr
Starting off
Plant pot-grown plants Apr to May. Semi-ripe cuttings 8 cm long taken Aug to Sep root in 2 to 3 weeks at 18 °C and are the insurance for half-hardy types. Divide S. nemorosa in Mar every 3 years. Species seed sown Mar at 18 to 21 °C germinates in 14 to 21 days.
Spacing and planting
S. nemorosa 30 to 45 cm apart, shrubby S. × jamensis 45 to 60 cm; plant at pot depth with grit under the roots on clay. Shrubby types are fine in a 30 cm pot in full sun.
Varieties worth growing
- S. nemorosa 'Caradonna'
- Fully hardy, 50 cm, violet spikes on near-black stems; cut back in July and it repeats in late summer.
- S. 'Hot Lips'
- Shrubby, red and white flowers from June to the frosts on a 90 cm bush; hardy in most gardens on drained soil.
- S. × jamensis 'Nachtvlinder'
- Shrubby, velvety dark purple, neater than 'Hot Lips' at 70 cm and good in a pot.
- S. 'Amistad'
- Rich purple flowers with black calyces on 1.2 m stems from June to November; borderline hardy, so take cuttings every year.
- S. patens
- The truest blue of any salvia, 60 cm, with tuberous roots that can be lifted and stored like a dahlia.
Salvias month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Nothing to do outdoors. Check overwintering cuttings and keep them on the dry side.
- February
Nothing to do. Leave the old stems on shrubby types.
- March
Cut the dead stems of S. nemorosa to the ground and divide clumps. Sow species from seed in heat.
- April
Cut shrubby salvias back by half once new shoots show. Plant hardy types.
- May
Plant out tender salvias and rooted cuttings after the last frost.
- June
First flush. Top-dress plants in pots late in the month and water in.
- July
Cut S. nemorosa spikes back to the basal leaves as they fade. Deadhead shrubby types.
- August
Second flush on S. nemorosa. Take 8 cm cuttings from non-flowering shoots.
- September
Last cuttings early in the month. No feed for pots.
- October
Bring rooted cuttings and tender plants in pots under frost-free cover.
- November
Mulch the crowns of 'Amistad' and S. patens 10 cm deep, or lift S. patens tubers and store frost-free.
- December
Nothing to do. Do not cut anything back.
Feeding salvias
Salvias in the ground need no fertiliser: lean soil keeps them compact, hardy and full of flower. Only plants in pots are fed, and lightly.
Light-to-moderate, lean, sunny conditions suit them; too rich and they flop.
Feeding plan
Beds, all year
Nothing
No feed. On rich or fed soil the stems flop and the plant flowers less and overwinters worse.
Potting, in April or May
5 g per litre of compost, the low end of the label: 60 g mixed into a 30 cm pot holding 12 litres.
Late June or early July, pots only
2 g per litre of compost, the low end of the label top-dress: 24 g for a 30 cm pot holding 12 litres, scattered on the surface and watered in, at least 5 to 6 weeks after potting. Once. Nothing after that, so the wood ripens before winter.
No fertiliser is recommended for salvias in open ground; the feeding plan applies to pots only.
Signs to watch
Floppy stems and sparse flowers
Nitrogen excess or rich soil
No feed; lean and sunny
Leaves yellowing from the base in winter
Waterlogging
Improve drainage with grit
Small flowers in Aug
Dry roots and potash short
Water, and top-dress as in the feeding plan
Pests, diseases and problems
Spring shoots of S. nemorosa and S. patens eaten off as they emerge
Slugs and snails
Torch patrols in April, nematodes on moist soil, and grit round the crowns. Shrubby salvias with aromatic leaves are rarely touched.
Shoot tips distorted, young leaves full of small ragged holes
Capsid bugs feeding on the soft tips from May
Tolerate it. Pinch out badly damaged tips and the plant branches and flowers below the damage.
Small metallic green and purple striped beetles and grey grubs on the leaves
Rosemary beetle, which also feeds on lavender, rosemary and sage
Shake the stems over an upturned umbrella or sheet and collect the beetles; look for them from late summer through to spring.
Leaves finely speckled with pale dots, tiny insects jump when the plant is brushed
Sage leafhopper
Cosmetic only. No treatment is needed; plants grow through it.
White powdery coating on leaves in late summer
Powdery mildew on plants that are dry at the root or crowded
Water deeply once a week in drought, give plants their full spacing, and cut S. nemorosa back after flowering so clean growth replaces the old.
Pruning
Pruning and care
Cut S. nemorosa spikes back to the basal leaves after the Jun flush for a second in Aug. Shrubby S. × jamensis and S. microphylla: deadhead through summer, leave stems over winter, then cut back by half to a framework in Apr once new shoots show, never in autumn. Tender S. patens: lift, or cover with 10 cm of dry mulch and fleece in Nov.
Good to knowDeadhead for repeat flower; bee favourites. Some are tender, overwinter under cover.
Growing salvias in pots
Shrubby salvias and 'Amistad' are good pot plants. Use a 30 cm pot, about 12 litres, of loam-based or peat-free compost with a quarter by volume of grit, in the sunniest spot you have. Water when the top few centimetres are dry; they tolerate drying out far better than standing wet. The advantage of a pot is winter: move it against a house wall, or into a cold greenhouse or porch for tender kinds, raise it on feet and keep the compost barely moist until April. Repot or top-dress with fresh compost each spring after pruning.
Salvias: common questions
When should I cut back salvias?
It depends on the type. Cut hardy Salvia nemorosa back to its basal leaves after the first flush in July, and clear the dead stems in March. Cut shrubby salvias such as 'Hot Lips' back by about half in April, once new shoots are showing, and never in autumn, because the old stems protect the plant through winter.
Are salvias hardy in the UK?
Some are and some are not. Salvia nemorosa and its relatives are fully hardy. Shrubby salvias such as 'Hot Lips' and 'Nachtvlinder' survive most winters in free-draining soil. 'Amistad', Salvia patens and other tender kinds need a deep dry mulch or lifting, and cuttings taken in August are the safest way to keep them.
Why are my 'Hot Lips' flowers all red or all white?
The season changes the colour. 'Hot Lips' produces its red and white bicolour flowers for most of the summer, but early on the flowers can be all red, and late in the season, as the days shorten, all white. Nothing is wrong with the plant and no feed will alter it.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.
- How to grow salviasRHS
- Salvia 'Hot Lips'RHS
- How to grow salviasBBC Gardeners' World