Salvias: A little bit of something special for everyone

The question posed was: If you could only grow one flowering plant, what would it be? For me, the answer to that quiz is easy: salvias. Not only does this wonderfully-varied family of plants produce flowers in every color of the rainbow — something not available in many flowering plants — it also includes culinary herbs as well. Often heat- and drought-tolerant and long-blooming, salvias are tough and dependable.

And when it comes to salvias, there’s more! Except for one or two varieties, salvias resist deer browsing. (Deer will eat Salvia penstemonoides, big red sage or Penstemon sage, but not many others.) Salvias claim some 900 species, found around the globe. And many attract hummingbirds, butterflies and a variety of pollinators.

Salvias are in the mint family (Lamiaceae), which are often distinguished by their square stems, and there are with some 1,000 varieties in the salvia genus. The trichomes (hairs) growing on the leaves, stems and flowers of many salvias, help to reduce water loss. Sometimes these hairs are glandular and secrete volatile oils that typically give a distinct aroma to the plant. So if the hairs are rubbed or brushed, some of the oil-bearing cells are ruptured, which releases the oil, often making the plant unattractive to grazing animals and some insects.

While animals may not prefer their aromas, many salvias are used in perfumes or medicinally. One in particular, with rather innocent-looking pink-based white blooms, Salvia divinorum, is known as a hallucinogenic drug that is currently under scrutiny by the government and may eventually be declared illegal.

Yes, there are a few salvias that earn the “pewie” factor – among them the handsome S. Argentia, a biennial. So, alright salvias do not rival roses or lilies in the fragrance department, but they make up for that in looks. First growing season this salvia produces a handsome silvery-fuzzy rosette of large leaves. Then the following summer it sends up tall spikes of pink flowers with an aroma that, well, let’s just say they are not entirely pleasant smelling. But oh my how gorgeous they are.

One of my favorites, forsythia sage (S. madrensis) is categorized as one of the shrub salvias, and can attain heights of 10 feet. A native of Mexico, it can tolerate plenty of heat, and drought as well. This is one salvia that needs plenty of room, and like some other stinky salvias is one to avoid brushing up against. But unlike most salvias, it can take a good deal of shade and it still comes out smiling. For this reason, and for its stupendous spikes of yellow blooms, it remains one of my favorites.

The tubular- to bell-shaped flowers of salvias cover the range of colors and sizes. When it comes to reds, salvias have a lot of ornamentals beat. And salvias come in some of the most heavenly blues found growing anywhere.

Salvias even figure in history at the time of the Second World War. Out of necessity during that time, ornamental gardens were transformed into food-producing gardens across Europe and here at home. Ornamentals were sidelined and in many cases abandoned altogether. But there was one exception, according to John Sutton’s “Gardener’s Guide to Growing Salvias,” and that was the definitely patriotic red of S. splendens. Inexpensive to produce and hardy, to this day these firecracker red annual salvias remain popular summertime bedding plants.

And then there’s this about salvias: ceremonial burning of sage leaves was thought to banish evil spirits by making them sick. Burning sage was also believed to attract money and slow-down the aging process — attributes few plants can boast.

With such a variety of salvias and their popularity around the world, there are salvias for just about every garden. Here are some of the most popular salvias, including some newer ones:

• Salvia, “Amistad,” deep purple/blue spires

• Salvia apiana, white sage sacred to a number of Native Americans

• Salvia Argentia, a biennial with fuzzy foliage the first season and pink flower spikes the second

• Salvia azurea, blue sage, tall spikes of sky-blue flowers

• Salvia cacaliifolia, blue wine sage or Guatemalan sage blooming with pure gentian-blue flowers

• Salvia coccinea “Coral Nymph,” coral-pink flowers, tolerant of heat and humidity

• Salvia coccinea “Lady in Red,” vibrant red spikes of flowers great for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies

• Salvia coccinea, “Summer Jewel” with spikes of lavender blooms, new for 2016

• Salvia divinorum, or diviner's sage, is sometimes cultivated for psychedelic drug effects; the legality of its use is under review in some U.S. states

• Salvia elegans “Golden Delicious,” pineapple sage with bright golden-chartreuse foliage

• Salvia elegans, pineapple sage, widely grown as ornamental shrub or sub-shrub, with pineapple-scented leaves

• Salvia farinacea, mealy cup sage

• Salvia farinacea “Cirrus,” with pure white flowers all season, a tender perennial

• Salvia farinacea “Evolution,” compact growth with deep violet-purple flowers

• Salvia farinacea, “Gruppenblau,” grow from seed for early brilliant blue/purple spikes. Heat and humidity tolerant.

• Salvia farinacea “Victoria Blue,” long-lasting flowers and shade tolerance

• Salvia fruticosa, Greek sage or just sage, commonly grown and harvested as alternative to common sage

• Salvia guaranitica, “Black and Bloom”

• Salvia guaranitica “Black and Blue,” a large plant with dark stems and rich blue blooms

• Salvia greggii, autumn sage

• Salvia greggii “Desert Blaze,” red flowers in summer and fall and white-edged foliage

• Salvia guaranitica “Kobalt,” tall clusters of deep blue flowers

• Salvia hispanica, known as chia, produces edible seed, high in protein and omega-3 fatty acid, α-linolenic acid (ALA)

• Salvia jurisicii, Serbian sage, fine-textured, feathery foliage with a late-spring display of lavender-blue flowers

• Salvia leucantha, Mexican bush sage or woolly sage, an ornamental in warm climates with drooping flower heads, with white flowers emerging from furry blue or purple bracts

• Salvia lyrata “Purple Knockout,” low mound of deep purple leaves, may self-seed as groundcover

• Salvia madrensis, forsythia sage, a shrub salvia with large yellow flower spikes

• Salvia microphylla, from Mexico, also baby sage, a small shrub with red (sometimes pink or white) flowers, and its fruit-scented leaves

• Salvia microphylla “Hot Lips,” white flowers marked with a kiss-shape red marking

• Salvia miltiorrhiza, Chinese, Red sage, Danshen medicinal herb

• Salvia “Mystic Spires Blue,” good heat tolerance

• Salvia nemorosa, Woodland sage, ornamental

• Salvia nemorosa, “Ave Maria,” spires of deep pink on dark purple stems

• Salvia nemorosa, “Pink Dawn,” cotton-candy pink flowers on sturdy stems

• Salvia nemorosa, “Crystal Blue” with light blue flowers on sturdy, well-branched stems and aromatic gray-green foliage that is deer and rabbit resistant

• Salvia nemorosa “Ostfriesland,” East Friesland salvia, long season bloom of violet-purple flowers

• Salvia nemorosa “Plumosa,” large purple plumes and compact growth

• Salvia nemorosa “Sensation Rose,” spikes of lavender-pink flowers

• Salvia nemorosa, “Violet Riot,” vivid violet blue flowers on compact, densely-branched plants

• Salvia officinalis, or common sage, used widely in cooking, as an ornamental and landscape plant, and in herbal medicine

• Salvia officinalis “Icterina,” culinary sage with gray-green foliage edged in chartreuse

• Salvia officinalis “Purpurascens,” purple sage with purple-blushed foliage

• Salvia officinalis “Tricolor,” silvery-green leaves edged in creamy white and blushed with purple

• Salvia pachyphylla, clusters of lavender-purple flowers over evergreen silvery foliage

• Salvia patens “Blue Angel,” brilliant blue flowers, fuzzy foliage on upright growth

• Salvia patens, gentian sage with sky blue flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies

• Salvia sclarea, clary or clary sage, an ornamental and to some extent for perfume oils

• Salvia splendens, or scarlet sage, popular ornamental bedding or pot plant

• Salvia splendens, “Grandstand Red” new for 2016

• Salvia uglinosa, Bog sage prefers a wet soil and grows to 6 feet tall with medium-blue flowers

• Salvia viridis, clary sage

• Salvia viridis, “Marble Arch,” blue, purple, rose and white bracts

• Salvia x sylvestris “Mainacht,” May night salvia, a re-blooming salvia with spikes of deep blue-purple flowers, deer resistant

Easy to grow, even from seed, flowering profusely all summer, drought tolerant and deer resistant with blooms in every color of the rainbow and many with distinctive foliage as well — what’s not to like about salvias? Salvias encompass annual, perennial and even biennial varieties. Take a closer look at one of my favorite flowering plants, and you are sure to find one that’s just right for you and your sunny garden.

Lynette L. Walther is the GardenComm Gold medal winner for writing and a five-time recipient of the GardenComm Silver Medal of Achievement and the National Garden Bureau’s Exemplary Journalism Award. She is the author of “Florida Gardening on the Go,” and her gardens are on the banks of the St. Johns River.