Salvia puts on a show

Crisp autumn breezes make these spiked flowers dance a happy goodbye to warm weather as fall rolls in.

For a dazzling display in your garden, try fall salvias. They're easy to grow and will create an impressive autumn show. Salvias are topped with hundreds of brightly colored flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Also known as sages, these large, impressive plants will pump up your landscape till frost.

Fall salvias come in a variety of colors and sizes, and their availability continues to increase in garden centers across the South. These big, rangy bloomers stand out in the landscape and make great cut flowers.

Many gardeners already enjoy summer-flowering salvias, but lesserknown kinds, such as Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha), pineapple sage (S. elegans), forsythia sage (S. madrensis), and 'Van Houttei' scarlet sage (S. splendens 'Van Houttei'), start to bloom in late summer and thrive as temperatures dip in September and October. Hybrids such as 'Anthony Parker' and 'Indigo Spires' have purple-blue flowers.

Late-Season Blooms

Many annuals and perennials that perform well in the spring and summer look tattered after a long hot season, but fall salvias are just beginning to flourish. Barring a hard frost, they can fill your garden with color until November or December. When a freeze is expected, you can clip the colorful blooms and use them in autumn arrangements. If dried, the velvety, purple blooms of Mexican bush sage will retain their color and can be used to make long-lasting wreaths. (See "Create Your Own Arrangement" on page 154.)

Lots of Bang for Your Buck

The great thing about fall salvias is that you get plenty of impact in your garden for very little money. Often, you can buy them in small 4-inch pots for a few dollars. While gallon pots may cost around $8, these plants will grow 3 to 4 feet tall and wide in a season. Forsythia sage will get even bigger, reaching 5 to 6 feet tall.

Start Small, Think Big

In the Lower, Coastal, and Tropical South, plant fall salvias now. In these warmer regions, they may be perennials. In the Middle and Upper South, plant them in the spring or early summer. Depending on selections, they can be borderline hardy in the Lower and Middle South and should be treated as annuals in the Upper South.

Fall salvias grow quickly; sprinkle 2 tablespoons of slow-release, allpurpose fertilizer, such as 12-6-6, around the bases of plants for a little boost. The more sun they receive, the better they will perform. Salvias need room to sprawl. They also require well-drained soil, and once established, they are drought tolerant.

Salvias may become leggy in midsummer and will benefit from a hard cutback. With a sharp pair of clippers, you can cut them back halfway to the ground. They will quickly flush out, growing full and bushy.

Many Uses

Fall salvias have a loose, mounding habit suitable for the back of a border. In the summer, while they aren't in bloom, they create a nice green backdrop. In fall, their flowers pair well with chrysanthemums, goldenrod, and asters. Consider mixing salvias with ornamental grasses too.

They're also great in containers with low-growing plants such as petunias, creeping Jenny, and 'Margarita' or 'Blackie' sweet potato vines planted around them. Make sure the pot is large enough. It should be at least 21 inches in diameter and deep enough for good root growth.

Cut for Color

Fall salvias work well as cut flowers. Because of their large, bushy shapes, long stems can be clipped and placed in a tall vase. Mix them with colorful maple, sweet gum, and dogwood leaves for a showy arrangement. The blooms also look great with plumes of ornamental grasses and with red berries clipped from shrubs and trees.

If you like summer salvias, you'll love the fall ones, which extend the bloom time of your garden. As the temperatures cool and the humidity decreases, you'll spend more time outside enjoying these colorful plants.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Oct 2003
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved