How to Grow Salvia
Salvia At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Flower
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Hardy
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -23°C
Plant Family
Lamiaceae
Growing Season
Warm Season
Plant Lifecycle
Perennial
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
A young plant from a garden centre is the easiest start, and most garden salvias are named varieties that only stay true from cuttings or division. Plant it about 1 week after your last frost, 40 cm from its neighbours, in your sunniest, best-drained spot.
Ornamental salvias are flowering cousins of the sage you cook with, grown for their long spikes of flowers that bees and hummingbirds love. Hardy types come back every year, while tender types, like the bright red ones, are grown fresh each year or kept as cuttings indoors over winter.
When To Start
Salvia needs warmth. Wait until your last frost has passed and the soil has warmed before sowing.
We do not have exact sowing dates for this one yet.
When should you plant Salvia?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Salvia Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Salvia Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Plant salvia in full sun and well-drained soil
1 week after your last frost· every year
Cut salvia back by a third for a second round of flowers
75 days after your last frost· every year· optional
Take salvia cuttings now to keep tender types over winter
3 weeks before your first frost· every year· optional
Water your new salvia plants well while they settle in. Deep and slow is best.
About 1 days after you plant it
Your salvia is settling in! Water deeply when the soil dries, and give it all the sun you can.
About 30 days after you plant it
How is your salvia doing? Cut back faded flower spikes to get another round of blooms.
About 90 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Salvia's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Growing Tips
- 1Plant salvia in full sun, at least 6 hours a day.
- 2It likes lean, well-drained soil, so add only a little compost and avoid soggy spots.
- 3Water young plants until they settle in, then only in long dry spells, since salvias handle drought well.
- 4Skip extra feeding, because rich soil gives floppy stems and fewer flowers.
- 5Cut the plants back by about a third after the first big wave of flowers for a second round.
- 6Leave room between plants for air to flow, which keeps powdery mildew (a white dust on the leaves) away, and wash off aphids with a spray of water.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
60 cm
Mature Height
50 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
When to Pick
Blooms early summer to frost, especially if cut back after the first flush
How to Harvest
- 1Snip off faded flower spikes through the season to keep new ones coming.
- 2After the first big wave of flowers fades, shear the whole plant back by about a third, and it flowers again, often into fall.
- 3Cut spikes for a vase when about half the flowers on them have opened.
- 4On hardy types, leave the last growth standing over winter to shelter the crown, then cut it back in spring once new shoots appear.
- 5Before your first fall frost, take cuttings of tender types to grow indoors over winter.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
Seed Production
Still have a question?
Ask your coach about your salvia.
This page covers what we thought to write down. Your salvia will do something it never mentions, and that is the day a coach beats a guide. Ask Coach Lumen one question right now, free, no account.
