Salvia ‘Lipstick’
Salvia greggii ‘Lipstick’
Characteristics
- Type: Perennial
- Zone: 6 – 9
- Height: 2 – 3 Feet
- Spread: 2 – 3 Feet
- Space: 18 Inches
- Blooms: May – First Frost
- Bloom: Red
- Sun: Full Sun – Part Sun
- Water: Dry – Medium
- Maintenance: Low
- Leaf: Fragrant
- Resists: Deer
- Tolerates: Drought
- Attracts: Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds
- Texas Native
Culture
Salvia ‘Lipstick’ will grow in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Best in sandy or rocky soils with sharp drainage. Appreciates some part afternoon shade in hot summer climates. Best bloom occurs in late spring and fall, with sporadic bloom in the heat of the summer. Tolerates heat, humidity and drought. Salvia greggii, commonly known as autumn sage, Texas sage or red Chihuahuan sage, is a small deciduous sub-shrub that grows to 2-3′ tall and as wide. It is native to rocky slopes from western and central Texas into northern Mexico. Small, rounded, oval leaves (to 2″ long) are aromatic when crushed. This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season’s flowers.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Salvia ‘Lipstick’ is one of the longest-flowering and best-performing Texas sage cultivars. It begins flowering in early May and continues through November. Each compact clump of ‘Lipstick’ is simply smothered in terminal flower spikes of lipstick-red flowers, each highlighted by a white throat and brown calyx…a bee, butterfly and hummingbird fiesta. Texas sage makes a great deer-resistant, drought-tolerant foreground addition to a grouping of ornamental grasses. This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. Specific epithet honors Josiah Gregg (1806-1850), botanist and explorer, who first collected this plant on a trip through Texas to Mexico in the mid 1840s.
Problems
It has no significant negative characteristics.
Garden Uses
Mass planting, border edging, general garden use, cut flowers, container planting. Xeriscape.