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Scarlet sage is a subshrub perennial in warmer climates and an annual where winter temperatures stay below freezing for more than a few hours at a time. Scarlet sage reaches 2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) tall, with 1-2 in (2.5-5 cm) triangular leaves on long petioles (leaf stems) opposite each other on a square stem. The showy flowers are bright red, about an inch long, and arranged in loose whorls along the upright stem. Blooms appear continuously from early summer to first frost. There are several cultivars, including pink ones, white ones and bicolored ones. Don't confuse this species with the popular bedding plant, Salvia splendens (also called scarlet sage), a frost-tender perennial from Brazil (usually grown as an annual), most of whose many flamboyant cultivars do not attract butterflies or hummingbirds, and do not reseed themselves.
Scarlet sage occurs naturally in dry soils and waste places from South Carolina to Florida and west to Texas and Central America, and in the West Indies.
Culture
Scarlet sage is a good bedding plant and useful in borders where brilliant color is desired. This American mint is especially desirable in natural area gardens where it attracts butterflies and hummingbirds and maintains itself year after year without dominating or becoming invasive.
Features Steve Christman 02/12/97; updated 12/6/99, 05/28/03
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