Salvia, Autumn Sage, Cherry Sage, Gregg's Sage, Texas Sage 'Lipstick'

I got some salvias maybe 7 years ago from Portland Nursery called greggii red. I haven't seen those in the last few years but they have ...Read Morehad the lipstick variety and judging from the flowers and leaves and growth habit it is either a very similar variety or possibly the identical same variety. The greggii reds are my nicest salvias. They have grown into big beautiful plants. The lipsticks seem to be growing just as well. I got some more at PN this year and replaced some other salvias and an agastache that weren't making it.

There is one with somewhat similar flowers from High Country Gardens that is called raspberry delight. I planted quite a few of those, but they have not performed as well as the lipstick variety. They have been kind of slow growing, and the flowers seem to take longer to go into bloom. They have about the biggest flowers of any salvias I have seen, but the flower on the lipstick is almost as big.

Overall, the lipstick is my favorite salvia right now. If you have room for lots of salvias you probably want to plant ones of different colors like I have. But for a red salvia, I believe the lipstick is the best or at least equal to the best. They also seem to have good cold hardiness. Anything that has "greggii" in its name I tend to be pretty confident will have good cold hardiness. I'm in zone 8 so it shouldn't have too much problem, but there are some varieties I've tried such as the black and blue that couldn't handle it when we had a colder than average winter.

Salvia greggii 'Lipstick' has grown in my yard for almost a year. I bought the plant from a clearance sale last May. For the last two ...Read Moregrowing seasons, it has provided nourishment for the hummingbirds. I am really pleased with it.