Scarlet sage (Salvia splendens)
Discover Scarlet sage (Salvia splendens), a low-maintenance choice for brilliant red summer color in beds and borders.
Complete Plant Information
Overview
Scarlet sage, scientifically known as Salvia splendens, provides stunning, long-lasting color perfectly suited for warm-season gardening displays. Characterized by dense, erect flower spikes, this plant is invaluable for creating focal points or adding vertical accents to mixed plantings. While native to Brazil, it is celebrated globally for its reliable performance throughout the summer months until the first hard frost arrives.
This clump-forming perennial acts predominantly as a warm-weather annual in most temperate climates. It thrives when provided with consistency in its environment, favoring well-drained soil and ample sunlight. The striking, typically red blooms of Salvia splendens attract attention immediately upon flowering.
For gardeners seeking low maintenance combined with high visual impact, Scarlet sage is an excellent choice. Its upright structure and vibrant hue make it a dependable annual bedding plant, contributing excellent texture and a bold splash of color to any sunny location, easily living up to its specific epithet, “splendens.”
Fast Facts
- Plant Family: Lamiaceae
- Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
- Native Range: Brazil
- Hardiness Zones: USDA Zones 10-11
- Size at Maturity:
- Height: 1-2 ft
- Spread: 0.75-1.5 ft
- Bloom Time: June to frost
- Bloom Description: Red
- Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
- Water Needs: Medium
- Maintenance Level: Low
How to Grow
To establish Salvia splendens, begin seeds indoors approximately 6 to 8 weeks before your region’s average last frost date, as these plants require ongoing warmth to thrive. Set out seedlings or purchased plants only after all danger of frost has passed. Plant directly into average, evenly moist, well-drained soils where they can receive plenty of light.
During the growing season, maintain medium water needs by watering regularly to keep the soil consistently moist but never waterlogged, as good drainage is crucial for root health. While maintenance is generally low, pinching back young plants encourages bushier growth, leading to more abundant blooms throughout the summer. Deadheading is usually unnecessary as the plant naturally produces new flowers continuously until frost.
As a tender perennial, Salvia splendens will not survive freezing temperatures. If you wish to keep your favorite plants, follow the culture recommendations: cut back plants during the fall, pot them up, and overwinter the containers in a bright, cool, sunny window indoors. Alternatively, late summer cuttings can be taken for overwintering propagation purposes.
Landscape Uses
Scarlet sage excels when used to define the edges of garden beds or integrated into layered cottage garden designs. While the standard selections grow to 1–2 feet tall, numerous compact cultivars are perfect for creating neat, vibrant edgings or filling containers where they provide consistent vertical accents. Their bold, saturated colors contrast beautifully with silvery foliage or delicate white flowers.
Use groupings of Salvia splendens to create masses of uninterrupted color in annual borders where they pair well with late-blooming zinnias or marigolds. For cutting gardens, their strong stems and long bloom time make them excellent material for bringing that intense red color indoors. Their structure adds formality, even in more relaxed cottage settings.
Standout Features
Flower Qualities
- Showy
Noteworthy Characteristics
Salvia splendens, commonly called scarlet sage, is native to Brazil. It is a clump-forming, tender perennial that typically grows to 1-2’ tall on square, upright stems. Features long-tubed, red-bracted, bright red flowers (to 2” long) in dense, erect, terminal racemes from summer to fall. The genus name Salvia comes from the Latin word salveo meaning “to save or heal,” referencing purported historical medicinal properties of the genus.
Tolerances
- Deer
Potential Problems
Salvia splendens is generally robust, especially when sited correctly in well-drained soil under the recommended sun exposure. The primary cultural issue arises from overly wet conditions in heavy soils, which can lead to root rot, particularly during overwintering attempts indoors. Ensure that containers have excellent drainage if potting them up for winter survival. Slugs and snails may occasionally bother the tender seedlings early in the season, requiring proactive protection until the plants mature in the heat of summer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hardiness zones is Scarlet sage suitable for?
Scarlet sage (Salvia splendens) is reliably hardy only in USDA Zones 10 and 11, functioning as an annual elsewhere in the landscape.
How large does Scarlet sage grow?
This plant typically matures to a height between 1 and 2 feet, with a spread ranging from 0.75 to 1.5 feet.
When does Scarlet sage bloom?
You can expect vibrant red blooms from Salvia splendens continuously from June right through to the first killing frost.
What sun exposure does Scarlet sage need?
For best performance, plant Salvia splendens where it receives full sun to partial shade, ensuring it gets sufficient light to maintain compact growth and heavy flowering.
Conclusion
The reliability and intense color display offered by Scarlet sage make it an indispensable choice for adding long-lasting heat to summer landscapes. Whether you utilize Salvia splendens for formal edging or bright container arrangements, its low maintenance profile is highly appealing. Check your local frost dates now and plan your indoor sowing schedule to guarantee a brilliant season of red color.
Propagation Tips
Taking cuttings offers a reliable method for preserving desirable Salvia splendens varieties over winter, especially if you enjoy specific compact or unique color forms not available as seed each year. In late summer, select healthy, non-flowering stems, usually 4 to 6 inches long, and snip them just below a leaf node. Remove all lower foliage and dip the cut end in rooting hormone before placing the cutting into a sterile rooting medium, such as a mix of peat and perlite.
Maintain high humidity and warmth around the cuttings, perhaps using a plastic dome or humidity tray. Keep the rooting medium lightly moist until new root growth is established, which typically takes several weeks. Once rooted, these young plants can be carefully transplanted into small pots and treated just like mature plants being prepared for overwintering indoors.
Companion Planting
Because Salvia splendens demands medium moisture and full to partial sun, excellent companions are other annuals or heat-tolerant perennials that share similar cultural needs. Silver foliage plants, such as Dusty Miller (Senecio cineraria), provide a stunning, cooling contrast to the hot red flowers of Scarlet sage. Alternatively, pairing it with bright yellow or orange companion plants, like French Marigolds, enhances the fiery color palette typical of cottage gardens.
