FLOWERING SEASONS
Although the Flowering Seasons vary during the year, these will depend on the time of year, the season, climate and the area in which the Salvias are growing. There may well be a difference between the flowering times of country Victoria and the gardens in the Melbourne Metropolitan area. What ever your location, there will always be some Salvias in flower. Select your season or month to find what is flowering when.
Although some Salvias will only feature once, they may have an extended flowering period over a number of months. Many Salvias may not feature in one season, but may feature in another.
Salvias Flowering in the Summer Months
The Flowers that appear during these Summer months include most of the herbaceous Salvias that came up in Spring and flower late spring, through summer, finishing in Autumn . All the greggii/ microphylla plants will be in full flower, putting on a wonderful show of colour, many being capable of flowering the whole year.
Most Salvias should be trimmed during summer, to tidy up and shape and dead head, this will encourage new flowers. But by the end of Summer, they will need to be pruned and tidied to prevent plants from becoming too woody. Pruning back to a good green bud is one way of regenerating the plant.
Most of the tall large leaf Salvias have finished with only one or two such as S. gesneriiflora ‘Tequila’ being able to flower on and off during the year. S. chiapensis is another which can flower for most of the year either in semi shade or a sunny protected position.
Most of the clumping Salvias and those from the Mediterranean regions put on a great display during the hot Summer months.
There are a many Salvias that are finishing or just beginning their flowering season. There is such a variety of plants from groundcovers, clumping plants, small shrubs to medium growing Salvias to be found during these Summer months.
The
December
January
February
Salvias Flowering in the Autumn Months
March is the beginning of the autumn flowering Salvias, when the first of the tall autumn / winter flowering Salvias appear, when the colour purple start to shine, especially paired with the bright cerise colours of S.curviflora, ‘Joan’ and the crimson of ‘Ripe Raspberry’. This is when S. mexicana ‘Limelight starts to flower, followed by ‘Lolly and the other mexicana varieties. ‘Meigan’s Magic’ and ‘Anthony Parker’ begin their wonderful purple show. The autumn leucantha’s put on an excellent display with the different shades of magenta and mauve. All these colours seem to glow under the Autumn skies.
There are so many Salvias still flowering at this time of year, the last of the summer herbaceous flowers can be still seen in March and April. Some of course will remain flowering until the onset of the cold weather of winter. Yet other small microphylla and greggii varieties growing in the warmer suburbs may remain flowering all year, such as ‘Angel Wings’, ‘Mesa Azure’ and ‘Hotlips’.
So many varieties have such a long flowering period extending from summer into autumn and through to winter. They put on a wonderful show at any time of the year.
March
April
May
Salvias Flowering in the Winter Months
Many of the Winter flowering Salvias are tall with large leaves. To keep them flowering during the cold months, they need protection from frost, by planting them under deciduous trees, using large trees as shelter or among large shrubs. Most of these beauties like to grow in a sunny protected area but are just as happy in a semi shaded positions. They all like a little water during the hot dry months.
Most of these Salvias have tubular flowers which are suited perfectly for small Honeyeaters like the little Eastern Spinebill. You can see them flitting through the stems and hovering over these tubular flowers.
Most of the large involucrata types now begin to show off their gorgeous pink flowers, expanding to put on a wonderful display for all the birds. There are so many wonderful colours during these frosty mornings that shine in the sunlight.
Of course there are plenty of other medium Salvias still flowering such as S. curviflora, ‘Phyllis Fancy’, ‘Waverly’ and ‘Hadspen’. Although many of the small greggii / microphylla types may have been pruned and cleaned out, many would still be flowering if left untouched, such as ‘Mesa Azure’, Hotlips’, ‘ Angel Wings’, ‘Navajo Red’ and many, many more. This is the time that some of the S. disermas varieties like to show their spires of white or pale pink flowers. The purple and pink varieties prefer the summer time to flower.
The Frosty days are perfect for the herbaceous Salvias which are underground waiting to come up in Spring. The tough grey leaf Salvias, including those from Sth Africa, Californian and Mediterranean areas perform very well during these cold mornings, but make sure they have good drainage to prevent rotting if there is lingering dampness and too much rain.
Many of the early herbaceous Salvias begin to stir and flower, taking advantage of the early pollinators. Salvias such as S. eigii and S. heirosolymitana emerge now with their beautifully marked pale pink and maroon flowers.
Most of the tall large leaf Salvias finish flowering at the end of Winter or early Spring, which is the best time to cut those old stems down. Only one or two such as S. gesneriiflora ‘Tequila’ are able to flower on and off during the year. S. chiapensis is another which can flower for most of the year either in semi shade or a sunny protected position.
No matter what the season, there are many Salvias that are just finishing or just beginning their flowering season. There is such a variety of plants from groundcovers, clumping plants, small shrubs to medium growing Salvias to be found during these Winter months.
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July
August
Salvias Flowering in the Spring Months
Flowering Season time in Spring is when so many Salvias burst into new growth and flowers. It’s the time for the herbaceous Salvias to begin to shine rising up from winter into bright new leaf growth and their wonderful array of blue/ mauve/ purple/ pink and white flowers, all attracting bees and other insects. The suberba and nemerosa types begin to flower in October and continue until late summer. Whilst many other large leaf herbaceous and clumping Salvias flower late spring and summer, continuing until autumn. Salvias such as superba ‘Maynight’, ‘Snowhills’, nemerosa ‘Amethyst’, ‘Rubin’, viscosa, put on an excellent display.
Salvia eigii and hierosolymitana are among the early herbaceous salvias to begin flowering, from late winter through to early summer. These Salvias take advantage of the insects and bees without too much competition from other flowering plants, to ensure that they become pollinated and set seed.
There are still a number of tall, large leaf Salvias in flower, just finishing or just beginning such as S.dorisiana , ‘Amistad’ and S.gesneriiflora ‘Red Rambler’, ‘Timboon, S.karwinskii ‘Cyclamen’ and ‘Costa Rican Blue’.
Spring is also the time when the new flush of growth and flowers appear on the greggii/microphylla types. All attracting bees, hover flies and butterflies. Although ‘Hotlips’, ‘Mesa Azure’ , ‘Angelwings’ and others would have still flowered through winter, they do need cutting back and cleaning out to continue through the summer months. They all need a good feed and new mulch applied to keep the root area cool for the hot dry summer.
