Salvia 'Hot Lips'

RHS Plant Profile

sage 'Hot Lips'

Synonyms

Salvia × jamensis 'Hot Lips'
Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips'

Shrubs

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A bushy plant, about 100 x 100cm, evergreen if not cut back by frost, with small, ovate, aromatic green leaves. Flowers are borne in loose terminal racemes, red in midsummer, bicolored red and white in July and August, sometimes completely white when the days shorten. Very floriferous in all its colour stages, continuing to the first frost

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Chalk, Loam, Sand

Max Height

0.5-1 metres

Max Spread

0.5-1 metres

Size

Time to Maturity: 2–5 years
Max Spread: 0.5-1 metres
Max Height: 0.5-1 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Loam Sand

Moisture: Moist but well–drained or Well–drained
pH: Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun

Aspect: South–facing or West–facing
Exposure: Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20): H5
Drought Resistance: Yes

Colour & Scent

Fragrance Foliage

Season	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family: Lamiaceae
Native to GB/Ireland: No
Foliage: Evergreen
Habit: Bushy
Genus: Salvia can be annuals, biennials, herbaceous or evergreen perennials, or shrubs. They have paired, simple or pinnately lobed, often aromatic leaves and 2-lipped flowers in whorls, forming simple or branched spikes or racemes
Name Status: Accepted

How to Grow

Cultivation

Grow in light, moderately fertile, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil or well-drained soil. Best in full sun but can tolerate light partial shade

Propagation

Propagate by basal cuttings, or by softwood cuttings in spring or early summer, or by semi-hardwood cuttings in late summer or autumn with bottom heat

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Coastal
Cottage and informal garden
Mediterranean climate plants
City and courtyard gardens
Gravel garden
Patio and container plants
Wildlife gardens
Flower borders and beds
Wall side borders

Pruning

Pruning group 9 in spring, deadhead to prolong flowering

Pests

May be susceptible to slugs, snails, rosemary beetle and leafhoppers

Diseases

May be susceptible to honey fungus (rarely), powdery mildews, verticillium wilt and foot and root rots