Shrub (rather than perennial) salvia

[WellTidy]

Its been suggested to me that a row of shrub salvia would be a good option for a very sunny and dry area in my front garden, outside a wide bay window. My only experience of salvias has been perennial ones - my Amistad is going strong as are three Cerro Potosi.

Could anyone suggest some shrub salvia varieties please? I don't have any idea which they could be. I am looking for ones that don't grow much taller than a metre, no reds.

Thanks!

Salvia Jezebel is a lovely shrubby variety. Woody stems, almost evergreen and flowers for months with gorgeous red blooms. Or there is the classic hot lips or newer amethyst lips :)

Sorry just saw the no reds! Woops, jumped the gun there. Salvia cerro potosi is magenta pink but not as neat in habit. It is shrubby though. A lot of the salvias classed as perrenials are actually sub shrubs, and have a woody structure but I think it depends on local climate as to whether they die to the ground each year.

Thank you. I have three Cerro Potosi in the back garden. They perform amazingly well - still in flower now and really bushy. I might try amethyst lips, just to have something different. I am in the south east, and the position would be fairly sheltered against the wall of the house.

I would prefer something evergreen - I’ve had photinia in the past and they were great, but I’d like something that flowers. I’ve also had erysimum bowles mauve, which flower all year round here, but they needed replacing every couple of years and I need five to fill the space, and I don’t really want to have to keep buying every couple of years.

I have salvia greggii emperor, which is a deep plummy reddish purple. I cant vouch for whether its evergreen here yet though as its in its first year. Might be worth looking into. If you google Dyson salvias I believe he is the expert breeder in the south east and sells lots of different varieties. Its always a challenge finding a plant that suits, but a fun one :)

Have you tried Salvia Phyllis fancy? Tall but good. Best for long term is Nachtvlinder, Royal Bumble and late flowering Salvia Leucantha is in flower for me now until January. Drainage and shelter are key. A great one if you can find it is Blind Faithh and if you are in the UK you can see that Ashwood and Dyson nurseries have a superb mail order service.

I planted an African Sky early this year and it's done really quite well. Beautiful bluet purple and I've taken several cuttings as a 'just in case'! Precaution!

I've got very into salvia in the last year or so!

Salvia Patens Blue is lovely.

I've had some great salvias (and herbs) from this specialist nursery. I can't recommend them enough. If nothing else, their site should give you some inspiration:

www.norfolkherbs.co.uk/plant-type/salvias/

I also have this lovely Salvia which is used as a companion plant for roses. It’s a lovely colour

www.sarahraven.com/products/salvia-x-jamensis-nachtvlinder?gclid=CjwKCAiAvriMBhAuEiwA8Cs5lZS87TKJ09NwGyBOjA2koaKyK3fMdrnl2tLC5Ku_r_k8y6DB1RoNbBoCIikQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds