This winter and spring was incredibly warm for very long stretches. We never got down to 0° or even close. It's unclear what my hardiness zone is now. Some sources say my zip code is in zone 7 (lowest temp 0°), some say zone 6 (lowest temp -10°).
That makes a difference for some of the salvias I now have. I can keep zone 7 plants through winter if we don't get a really hard cold snap below 0° for long. But zone 8 is another matter.
The tender ones - rated for zone 7 . . . or 8?
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| The tender (or too tender?) ones |
> Consistently rated a zone 7 plant.
My favorite and I have 2 in the ground and four still in their nursery pots. I'll plant one and re-pot the other three in larger containers to keep by the deck.
Salvia farinacea - Mealycup sage
> Rated zone 7 by High Country Gardens, which sells it, but it's rated zone 8 by other sources.
So far they have come back for me in these past two warm winters.
Salvia microphylla - Hot Lips
> Consistently rated solid zone 8, even by High Country Gardens, which sells it.
Last summer I bought three salvias at Lowe's labeled Salvia greggii but they were mislabeled. They are actually Hot Lips microphylla and it turns out not hardy here.
I tossed all three.
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| The hardy ones |
Salvia darcyi 'Vermillion Bluffs'
> This is a cold hardy one consistently rated for zone 5
Salvia darcyi x microphylla 'Windwalker Red'
> Hardy in zone 5, although some sources say zone 6
Salvia nemorosa 'Midnight Purple' and 'Perfect Profusion'
> Rated to zone 3.
Midnight Purple is tiny, compact.
Perfect Profusion hasn't done anything yet, I need to see it grow.
Salvia x sylvestris 'May Night'
> Hardy, down to zone 4. I'm planning it for the circle garden.
All of this concern about hardiness is a moot point if we continue to have such warm winters.
But the zone 8 Hot Lips plants are gone now.