Salvia coccinea

Plant Characteristics

Habit		shrub
Height:	⇕	40 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 40.
Width:	⇔	20 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 20. to 32 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 32.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun
Features:	✓	flowers, hummingbirds
Minimum Temp:	☃	20°F266.483 K <br />-6.667 °C <br />479.67 °R <br />
USDA Zones:		9 to 12
Flower features:	❀	red, pink, white

Scientific Names

Lamiaceae >

Salvia >

coccinea >

Salvia coccinea, commonly known as Texas sage, scarlet sage, tropical sage, or blood sage, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Southeastern United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern Southern America (Colombia, Peru, and Brazil), but is widely cultivated as an ornamental. Its specific name, coccinea, means "scarlet-dyed" in Latin, referring to its flowers. They are tubular, bright red, about 1.25 in cm long and pollinated by hummingbirds and butterflies.

In the garden, the species is considered frost-tender and usually grown as an annual. In frost-free climates, flowers may be produced as early as February and continue through December. In other areas, flowering begins as days lengthen and continue until first frost in fall. While considered frost tender, light freezes will merely kill foliage, it takes a freeze below 20 degrees F. to kill them roots and all.

Plants grow best with plenty of sun and rich, well-drained soils.

Hummingbirds appear to favor this species over Salvia greggii, the autumn sage.

Read about Salvia coccinea in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Salvia coccinea, Linn. (S. rosea, Vahl). Annual or sometimes perennial and subshrubby: st. herbaceous, erect, 1-2 ft. high, canescent-pubescent: lvs. petiolate, 1-2 in. long, ovate, acute, crenate, base cordate, pubescent above, hoary-tomentose beneath; floral lvs. ovate, acuminate, deciduous: racemes simple; floral whorls remote, 6-10-fld.; calyx tubular-campanulate, striate, often purplish, the teeth acute; corolla scarlet, glabrous. July. S. C. to Fla. and Texas, Mex., W. Indies, Trop. Amer., and cult. and occasionally escaped in India and Austral.—Probably all of the material grown as this is not true to name, possibly the larger part of it is in reality S. splendens. Var. bicolor, Hort., has the upper lip white, the lower lip brilliant carmine-red. Var. lactea, Hort., has white fls. Var. major, Regel (S. filamentosa, Tausch. S. Roemeriana, Hort., not Scheele), becomes a subshrub up to 4 1/2 ft. high, is apt to be less canescent-pubescent and has larger bright scarlet-red fls. June to late autumn. Gt. 7:232. Var. nana, Hort., is a dwarf much-branched form. Var. nana carminea, Hort., is offered in the trade. Var. nana compacta, Hort., is a dwarfer and more bushy form than the variety proper. Var. pseudo-coccinea, Gray (S. pseudo-coccinea, Jacq.), grows 2-4 ft. high, and has the st., petioles, and often the margins of the floral lvs. conspicuously beset with hirsute hairs. Mex. and Cent. Amer. Var. punicea, Hort. (S. coccinea var. splendens, Hort. S. superba, Hort.), differs from the type in being larger, slenderer and later-flowering and in having fls. of a brighter red, more velvety and more closely placed. Var. punicea nana, Hort., differs from the variety proper in being dwarfer and the twigs more branched. Var. rosea nana, Hort., is offered in the trade. Var. splendens, Hort., equals var. punicea, Hort. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

Varieties

A wide selection of cultivars are available, including 'Lady in Red' (densely packed spikes of scarlet flowers with whitish bracts), 'Coral Nymph' (bicolored salmon pink and white flowers), and 'Snow Nymph' (white flowers).

Gallery

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Salvia coccinea. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Salvia coccinea QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)