The Salvia Hot Lips, Red Tips and White Lips...

About The Salvia Hot Lips

I was given a hint about the Salvia Hot Lips from a grower/owner friend of mine. While this annual (a perennial plant in zone 7 and higher) has been around for a few years, it is just coming into its own in our fair city. Almost every gardener either has it growing or wants to.

I purchased three plants from my friend and decided to plant them together in my middle garden. When planting, I added a teaspoon of Myke's growth hormone as I do with all of my plantings. Needless to say, my three plants now look like a massive shrub with brilliant single blooms of red tips and white lips...hence the name. Interesting though, is that some of the blooms are completely red with very little white at all.

I will admit that this Salvia gives a great flush of flowers as it matures into the month of July. By the end of July (mid season for us northern gardeners, the flowers are decreasing in numbers even though I am diligent about deadheading. The decrease in flowers could be the result of both hot daytime and night weather, but then, this plant is supposed to be heat tolerant. Maybe they mean the leaves. Perhaps as the evenings get cooler, this Salvia will once again be in a full flush of blooms.

Like all Salvias, the Hot Lips flowers and leaves are slightly fragrant and attract bees, hummingbirds and butterflies. They do not attract deer.

The main stems are upright and branch out into 3 separate stems of flowers. I find that the middle stems bloom out first and dries. To encourage blooming, I simply snip out the dried stem and any other stems where the flowers are spent.

This annual Salvia is a fast grower and blooms from spring until the first frost hits, which for us in the prairies can be in end days of September to mid October.

How To Grow The Salvia Hot Lips

Like most Salvias, the Hot Lips prefers full sun to part shade. Water on a regular basis until established. Once established, this bi colour annual is both heat and drought tolerant.

Fertilize once every 4 weeks, unless planted in a container. If in a container, fertilize every third watering. They do prefer a well drained area and can grow to 30" in height and can spread the same 30".

Great companions plants: Monarda or Bee Balm, Liatris Blazing Star, Purple Coneflower, Echinacea Double Pink, Salvia Black and Blue or the Salvia Mystic Spires.

Check out my Site Index Page for a listing of additional annuals and perennials to plant in your flower garden design.

Salvia Hot Lips Features

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