Note end of 2025: an update: per David Salman DO NOT cut back the native greggii salvias in fall, they won't survive the first winters, and in fact all the ones in pots I cut back and kept in the garage did not survive. The two in the ground were not cut back and they are okay.
Read what I was concerned about originally:
It was 0° this morning when I got up.
I'm worried about the Radio Red Autumn sages I put in the ground this fall. They are hardy to zone 7 and that means the coldest they can take is 0°.
Santa Fe is sometimes shown as zone 7, but more often zone 6b now, but either way the reality is more severe.
Combined with dry ground and intense sun in winter, the harsh effects of cold temperatures are heightened I think.
And our growing season is shorter --we consistently have cold freezes earlier in fall and later in spring than the dates expected for zone 6b or 7.
One strategy is to mound leaves over the plants and put a bucket over.
But the leaves blow about on a windy day, and the bucket too. The bucket has to be removed when sun hits so it doesn't overheat even on a cold day.
That seemed like too much.
When I bought these salvias, Newman's was selling them in large quantities as hardy perennials, not tender or annual plants. I asked about hardiness and they said they'd be fine in the ground here.
Spring will tell . . .