How to Grow Scarlet Sage (Salvia Splendens)

Hi, this is Yolanda Vanveen and in this segment we're going to learn all about the scarlet sage or salvia splendens. And it's a splendid flower for your garden. So salvia is actually in the mint family, so it's an herb. It's not even a true flower or perennial in that. So it grows just like any other herb and very bushy like a mint. So in the fall it dies back as soon as it starts getting cold out and then it will come back in the spring. So it's a pretty beautiful plant. That's easy to grow. The only problem is, is that the salvia splendens is only hearty to zone nine. So it can't handle any freezes at all. If you live in a warmer climate you can leave it outside. It'll come back from year to year. But if you live in a colder climate, any climate that freezes at all, then you just start it from seed every spring or dig it out as a plant and save the plant in the garage and then put it out in the spring again. It's a gorgeous plant. It has gorgeous red flowers all up and down the stems that bloom summer through fall 'til the first frost. And when the flowers look tacky, just chop 'em down and they'll shoot up more flowers. So a lot of times you'll get two sets of flowers in a season. And they're so easy to grow by season, the spring, or by division if you live in a warmer climate, but they're worth planting and they're a gorgeous plant in your perennial bed.