Salvias for three jobs: scarlet and salmon bedding salvias — ‘Grandstand’, ‘Saucy Red’, ‘Sizzler’, ‘Vista Red’, ‘Fashion Burgundy’, ‘Forest Fire’; blue perennial sages — ‘Victoria Blue’, ‘Cathedral’, ‘Mysty’, ‘Mystic Spires’; and the desert shrubs — white sage, ‘Hot Lips’ and ‘So Cool Pale Blue’.
Salvia is the biggest genus on the bench and the most useful in a Queen Creek garden, because different salvias do completely different jobs. The bedding types — Salvia splendens in the ‘Grandstand’, ‘Saucy’, ‘Sizzler’, ‘Vista’ and ‘Fashion’ series, and S. coccinea ‘Forest Fire’ — are seasonal color for spring and fall pots and borders. The blue mealycup sages — S. farinacea ‘Victoria Blue’, ‘Cathedral Deep Blue’ and ‘Mysty’, and the hybrid ‘Mystic Spires Blue’ — are tough perennials that often bloom from March to November. And the desert shrubs — white sage, S. greggii ‘Hot Lips’ and S. microphylla ‘So Cool Pale Blue’ — are permanent, low-water landscape plants for hummingbirds.
Each group has its own care, set out below. The rest of the color tables are on our Annual Flowers & Foliage page.
These are the salvia varieties we commonly carry. Availability changes week to week and season to season, so call (480) 987-3308 or stop in to see what’s on the bench today.
Salvia splendens and coccinea
The classic scarlet bedding salvia: dense red spikes on a compact 10–12-inch plant, early and uniform. See its own page: Vista Red Salvia.
A large-flowered, heat-tolerant splendens series at 18–24 inches with big flower heads; ‘Red Lipstick’ is a glowing red.
‘Grandstand’ in soft salmon-coral.
‘Grandstand’ in deep purple.
‘Grandstand’ with strawberry-red flowers in pale pink calyces.
A tall (30-inch), tropical-looking scarlet salvia with huge flower spikes that hummingbirds fight over; blooms spring to frost with afternoon shade.
A dwarf bedding series at 10 inches in red, salmon, purple, white and lavender.
A compact splendens in a rich burgundy-wine, for fall pots.
Texas sage Salvia coccinea ‘Forest Fire’: airy spikes of scarlet flowers in black calyces on a two-foot plant that takes more heat and less water than splendens; reseeds.
Salvia farinacea and ‘Mystic Spires’
A compact form of ‘Indigo Spires’: deep violet-blue spikes on a three-foot perennial that blooms from spring to frost and often overwinters here.
Mealycup sage in deep violet-blue on 18–20-inch spikes; a tough, long-blooming perennial treated as an annual in cold climates but usually perennial in Queen Creek.
A compact, well-branched mealycup sage at 12–14 inches in deep blue.
A dwarf mealycup sage, 12 inches, with dark blue spikes on a tidy plant for pots and edges.
permanent landscape plants
Autumn sage Salvia greggii ‘Hot Lips’: red-and-white bicolor flowers (all red in heat, all white in cool) on a three-foot evergreen shrub, spring through fall. Full sun, low water, hummingbirds. See its own page: Hot Lips Salvia.
A microphylla hybrid with unusual pale lavender-blue flowers on a compact two-foot shrub; the same tough desert habits as ‘Hot Lips’.
White sage Salvia apiana: the silver-white ceremonial sage of Southern California, a four-foot shrub with tall spikes of white flowers in spring. Full sun, sharp drainage, and no summer water once established — irrigation and rich soil kill it.
Looking for one that isn’t listed? Ask — we can usually suggest a close match or tell you when it tends to come around.
The care tag was written somewhere else. This is the Queen Creek version.
Splendens types and ‘Forest Fire’ go in from mid-February through April and again in September; they bloom spring into summer and fall until frost. Full sun in spring, afternoon shade from June, regular water (every two to three days in beds, daily in pots by May), and a bloom fertilizer every two weeks. Cut them back by half in August if they are ragged and they rebloom in fall. Frost kills them.
‘Hot Lips’ and ‘So Cool Pale Blue’ go in from October through April into full sun and native or lightly amended soil on drip: deep water every five to seven days in summer, every two to three weeks in winter, once established. Cut back by a third in February. White sage wants sharper drainage still — a slope, a raised bed, gravel — and no summer irrigation at all once established; water it only in the cool season.
Every salvia on this page feeds hummingbirds; the red bedding types and ‘Hot Lips’ most of all, and the blue sages draw bees and butterflies. A border with ‘Mystic Spires’, ‘Hot Lips’ and ‘Saucy Red’ has a hummingbird in it from March to November.
‘Victoria Blue’, ‘Cathedral’, ‘Mysty’ and ‘Mystic Spires’ go in any time from February through October. Full sun, well-drained soil, and moderate water — weekly once established, twice a week in summer for pots. They bloom from March to November; shear them back by a third in midsummer and after frost. Most survive a Queen Creek winter and return bigger.
Bedding salvias like rich, amended, evenly moist soil. The perennials and shrubs like lean, fast-draining soil and are killed by the same daily watering that keeps bedding salvias happy — plant them on separate irrigation zones. All salvias resent standing water in monsoon season.
Aphids and whiteflies on bedding salvias in spring; spider mites in summer heat — hose them off. Powdery mildew on splendens in still, humid corners. The desert shrubs are essentially pest-free. All the salvias here are non-toxic to cats and dogs.
Snap a photo of the spot — sun direction, wall color, pot size — and we’ll pick a season-correct combination with you. Advice is free.
Annuals succeed or fail on what’s under them. We stock planting mix and compost for beds, potting mix for containers, bloom fertilizers including Tony’s Magic Mix and Magic Flower, starter fertilizer, drip fittings and frost cloth for the cold nights. The pottery yard has glazed and terracotta pots from 4-inch to whiskey-barrel size, window boxes and hanging baskets, and soil and mulch is sold by the bag or by the yard.
The blue sages — ‘Victoria Blue’, ‘Cathedral’, ‘Mysty’, ‘Mystic Spires’ — usually overwinter in Queen Creek, and the shrubs — ‘Hot Lips’, ‘So Cool’, white sage — are permanent. The scarlet bedding salvias and ‘Forest Fire’ are killed by frost and replanted.
Mid-February through April, and again in September. Give it afternoon shade from June and cut it back in August for a fall flush.
Too much water, almost certainly. White sage needs sharp drainage and no irrigation in summer once established. Plant it on a slope or in a raised gravelly bed, away from lawn and drip zones.
Bedding types every two to three days; perennial blue sages weekly once established; ‘Hot Lips’ and ‘So Cool’ deep every five to seven days in summer; white sage only in the cool season.
Yes — they are among the best hummingbird plants in the desert, especially red bedding salvias, ‘Saucy Red’ and ‘Hot Lips’.
Yes, the salvias on this page are non-toxic to cats and dogs.
Salvia live on the annuals tables; any staff member can point you to them. Locally owned, and a short drive from San Tan Valley, Gilbert, Chandler and Mesa.