Perennial salvias are must-haves for your desert garden

The triad of perennial salvias for desert gardens yields color, scent and cut flowers for little water. Knowing which ones to choose is crucial to making these amazing sub shrubs perform to their fullest.

The genus Salvia is enormous, which includes Salvia officinalis, the ordinary culinary herb sage.  With so many other species and hybrids, it's important to know what performs here in the desert and what won't.  

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I'm a traditional gardener suspicious of new plants. This is wise when you live in the desert because you can't trust gardening books to give you the right info. It is far better to know from a local perspective how to start your salvia garden with reliable choicess that get along well together. To follow are the top three salvias that will explode into growth when heat returns in January:

Salvia greggii for Color

The light and very feminine flowers of autumn sage are the star performers, blooming long and continuously. The species is red flowered, which earns you the biggest hummingbird draw.  It maintains the vigor of a wild native compared to some newer hybrids that can't take the dry heat.  Shop continuously to get all the pinks, lavender hues and bicolored flowers. Autumn sage is ideal color for walled sunny gardens and sheltered backyards, but avoid west facing exposures. Feel free to plant these salvia hybrids at high density for more diversity of hues in smaller spaces. 

Salvia clevelandii for Form

While there are many reasons to commend Cleveland sage, their beautiful spherical forms during bloom time are eye catching. Topped with upright spikes bearing whorls of violet-purple flowers at intervals gives it a powerful haze of color over the grey leaves. After flowers fall the resulting pods are attractive for cuttings or draw songbirds as seed is released. This is the best sage to integrate into cactus and succulent plantings because they demand a similar water regime and tolerate more afternoon sun. The tidy form also works nicely in gravel fields.

Salvia alpina for Silver

White sage is native to our local mountains and valleys. It's often grown in landscapes for large silvery white leaves held on upright stems. It's a big perennial under irrigation, unlike our wild desert plants of the same species. In spring the flower spikes can reach five feet tall, though the blooms are small and white. Rabbits seem to leave it alone, which makes a great problem solver.  Be sure to smell this foliage before you buy - it was used as insect repellent by the native peoples within its range. Grow this plant to make your own smudge sticks that are fresh and potent. Use white sage in landscapes bordering wildlands where natives help ease the transition from home site to open desert views.

You can also grow salvia from seed, if collected at the end of the growing season. The plants may be sown into existing soil, particularly after there is disturbance or grading just prior to rain.  Shop for quart or one gallon sized plants for optimal performance this year. Generally, if you buy the species listed simply as Salvia alpina or S. clevelandii, you get the original species.   

Our desert salvias are so drought resistant because they are sub shrubs. Not exactly an herbaceous perennial, but not a true shrub. Sub shrubs develop brittle, woody stems and branches with time. From these arise fine herbaceous stems that bear leaves and flowers throughout the season.

In the garden they are cut back by hand in later January to stimulate older plants into better spring color or to alter their shape or reduce size. The original woody structure is retained to control the form overall.  Where there is room to sprawl, though, you may have little more to do with these self sufficient salvias after planting except enjoy the show.