How to Plant Perennial Salvia

Perennial salvia adds a bright blue color to your flower garden.

Perennial salvia adds beauty and bold color to your flower garden. There are many varieties of perennial salvia such as May night (salvia nemorosa) and Mexican bush sage (salvia leucantha). These medium-height, spiky flowers can be used as cut flowers, flowers for drying and for making clary sage essential oil. Once your perennial salvia is established, you will enjoy its beautiful blue and violet flowers from early summer until the first frost.

Things You'll Need

• Perennial salvia plants
• Garden rake
• 10-10-10 fertilizer
• Garden shovel
• Garden gloves
• Craft sticks
• Hose or sprinkler

Instructions

1. 

   A garden rake prepares soil for planting your perennial sage.

   Prepare your soil by breaking up clumps of dirt using a garden rake. Chop at the dirt to produce a loose soil that will drain easily.

2. Mix a 10-10-10 fertilizer into the soil. Use 1 lb. of fertilizer for every 50 square feet of garden. Sprinkle the fertilizer over the soil and use a shovel to turn the soil and mix in the fertilizer. All fertilizers have three numbers which indicate their fertilizer analysis. The first number represents the amount of nitrogen in the fertilizer, the second number represents the phosphorus and the third number represents the amount of potassium. A 10-10-10 fertilizer is made of equal parts nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Adding fertilizer balances the soil and promotes strong and healthy plant growth.

3. 

   A garden trowel is a small hand shovel.

   Dig a hole in your garden for each perennial salvia plant. Place each plant in a hole so the root system and 3 to 4 inches of the stem are covered with soil. Pat the ground down with your hands. Wear gardening gloves to protect your hands from dirt and fertilizer. Space your perennial salvia plants about 18 inches apart so they have ample room to grow and bush out.

4. Place a craft stick in the ground near each perennial salvia plant. Push the craft sticks into the soil so they are as deep as the plant's root system.

5. Water your perennial salvia plants thoroughly. Pull the craft stick out to see if it's wet down to the bottom of the stick. If it is, you've watered your salvia plants enough. If the stick is not wet to the bottom, place the stick back in the ground and continue to water until the water dampens the bottom of the stick. Keep the ground around your perennial salvia moist the first week.

Tips & Warnings

• Plant May night salvia in hardiness zones 4 to 8, in direct sunlight and in a rich, well-drained soil. May night grows to a height of 18 to 24 inches and spreads to 1 foot wide.

• Add Mexican bush sage to your garden in hardiness zones 7 through 10. This perennial sage also prefers full sun and a rich, well-drained soil. Mexican bush sage is perfect for the back area of your flower garden as it can reach a height of 4 to 5 feet.

• Clary sage, used in essential oils, is a type of salvia that is actually a biennial. Plant clary sage for two consecutive years to enjoy it in your garden yearly.

References

• Alabama Cooperative Extension: Perennial Salvias Brighten Your Landscape
• About Salvia: Perennial Salvia

Resources

• Donnan: Fertilizer Analysis