Hot Lips Salvia

Fun summer color keeps coming until the first frost with these outstanding herbaceous perennials. Hot Lips Salvia (Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips') features fragrant red and white blooms that are guaranteed to keep you smiling. Hot Lips flowers feature solid red lobes flaring out from underneath a tubular white throat. Each bloom is further accented right at the top with a red spot.

Don't be surprised if you see a color change from bloom to bloom and branch to branch. Some may be all red, some may have more white. It all depends on heat and where the branch is at in its life cycle!

Pollinators, honey bees, and butterflies can't resist these valuable nectar resources. Add several of these expertly-grown plants for their long-lasting blooms and fun coloration! Can you say "hummingbird magnet"? Hummingbirds love everything about these special, bi-colored blooms that boast a unique paint job. You'll be thrilled with its performance, and so will your local beneficial pollinators and hummers. These gorgeous plants are a must-have for nature lovers.

The mounds these blooms shoot up from are tidy, and compact, and aromatic with a mint-like herbal scent. You'll love Hot Lips all growing season, especially as fall starts coming and these are still blooming! There is simply no quit in the flower power of Hot Lips Perennial Sage! Hardy perennials in USDA growing zones 8-10, reaching mounds 3 feet wide and 3 feet tall when in bloom!

Planting and Application:

Take out the front lawn and go native! Hot Lips Salvia will become a standout for your design. Create a low-maintenance landscape with plenty of them in all your sunny spots. They'll definitely help get your summer parties started. From Cottage gardens, to dry Mediterranean gardens to Alpine-style rockeries, Hot Lips should be top of your guest list.

Jazz up your borders and planters with the special native Meadow Sage plants. Hot Lips Salvia is an improved cultivar that produces hundreds of showy, bicolor flowers for months! If you have a sunny perennial border, you'll want to create a bountiful massed planting for some showy style. Relax and watch the hummingbirds feast on their nectar!

Plant them two feet apart on center to quickly create a solid planting. Measure from the center of one to the center of the next. Add more rows to fill a wide, bare area with gorgeous color. Or partner with other sun-loving perennials, and natives like Blue Fortune Hyssop and Mountain Mint as a festive garden feature.

Renting? Downsizing? Just getting settled in a new place? They'll grow beautifully in containers on your deck, patio or porch. No problem at all! Count on Hot Lips Salvia to add sizzling style, without any headaches. Northern gardeners will be tempted to add them as an annual to create memorable seasonal containers, too. You'll find many ways to enjoy the charm of these carefree cuties!

How about setting them up in large outdoor planters as a single-species specimen planting? Flank either side of your front door with a pair of them. Add a sophisticated set of several to your pool deck or patio!

• Excellent Red & White Flowers All Growing Season Long
• Blooms Keep Coming from Early Summer to Late Fall
• Fragrant Flowers & Foliage - Great for Cut Flowers
• Wonderful Nectar Resource for Butterflies & Hummingbirds
• Fine-Textured, Gray-Green Foliage Grows Fast
• Gorgeous Container Plants, Borders & Edging, Specimens & Taller Accents

#ProPlantTips for Care:

Full sun is a requirement for these vibrant flowering perennials. Six hours of direct sunlight is a minimum. In the very hottest areas, you could try them with a bit of afternoon shade. Otherwise, more sun means more color.

No need to amend the soil with compost, or apply fertilizer. We do recommend Nature Hills Root Booster during planting to create a life-long support system for your plants. Fast-draining soil is another important requirement. Plant in containers or raised beds if you struggle with slow-draining soil. Once they are established in your soil, they'll tolerate mild droughts. These rugged plants can really take some tough conditions! They'll grow into fine-textured, bushy mounds, even in thin, rocky soil.

While moderately drought tolerant after the first season, we do recommend that you consider giving supplemental water in periods of extended drought. Container-grown plants also need a consistent watering schedule, please. Mulch helps reduce surface evaporation. Apply a three-inch thick layer over the root system to support your plants.

Deadheading encourages rebloom from summer until autumn! Gardeners in cooler growing zones can treat these perennial Sages as annual accents, but for warm, frost-free climates, we encourage our customers to leave the dried foliage on the plant over the winter. Then, in early spring, do a light cleanup and trim last year's growth to a height of six inches. Divide clumps every 3-5 years to maintain vigor.

• Durable Sun-Lover
• Thrives in Poor Soil
• Moderate to Low Moisture Needs
• Deadhead For Rebloom & Prune Back Early Spring
• Rarely Damaged by Deer & Rabbit Resistant

You'll love the way Perennial Salvia just "can't stop, won't stop" blooming all growing season. Order plenty of Hot Lips Salvia. Once you experience the color and performance, you'll want more, anyway. Enjoy these precious plants! Buy yours now at Nature Hills Nursery!