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    • Photo of Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips' form by Secret Garden Growers

    Photo by Secret Garden Growers

    Used with permission, all rights reserved

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    Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips'

    Also Known As

    • Hot Lips Sage
    • Hot Lips Salvia

    Plant type

    shrub, perennial

    size

    • H: 2'-3'
    • W: 4'-6'

    planting zones

    • 8b-10b

    More Options

    Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips' plant details

    Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips' is a fast-growing broadleaf semi-evergreen perennial shrub with green foliage. In summer red and white flowers emerge. Attracts bees, beneficial insects and hummingbirds making it an excellent addition to pollinator gardens. Grows well with sun - mostly sun and regular - low water. Drought tolerant once established. Does well in alkaline, average, gritty, lean, rocky and well-drained soil. A good option if you're seeking something heat tolerant.

    CHARACTERISTICS OF Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips'

    Plant type: perennial shrub
    Plant family: lamiaceae
    Foliage: semi-evergreen green
    Mature size: 4 FT - 6 FT - wide, 2 FT - 3 FT - tall
    Flowers: red and white blooms in summer
    Uses: border plant, container plant, easy-to-grow, fragrant foliage, long-blooming, rock garden, xeric

    GROWING CONDITIONS for Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips'

    USDA Zones: 8b - 10b
    Sun exposure: sun - mostly sun
    Watering frequency: regular - low
    Resistant to: deer and rabbit, heat
    Soil needs: alkaline, average, gritty, lean, rocky and well-drained

    Nursery contributed plant descriptions

    Introduced by Richard Turner after it was shared with him by his maid, who brought it from her home in Mexico. Fast to 4' w x 30" h, stunning bicolor flowers...red tip w/ white lip. With warm nights in summer, new flowers are all red with occasional solid white ones. As fall nears, the flowers again will be bicolor red & white. Sun, drained soils Hot, hot, hot!! Even in a pot!

    By: Secret Garden Growers

    Zn 8. Red and Wite flowers. Evergreen

    By: Little Prince of Oregon

    Very cool and an all time Phoenix Perennials bestseller. Salvia 'Hot Lips' is a fast-growing wild selection of a Mexican sage which is adorned with stunning bicolour flowers -- white flowers with red lips -- from May until frost. But the expression of colour is temperature sensitive. In spring the flowers are usually all red, later bicoloured/hot lipped and in the heat of the summer all white, then returning to bicoloured and then red again in the fall. Will produce thousands of flowers in a season. Well-drained soil in full sun. Hard prune each spring. Even worth it as an annual in colder climates.

    By: Phoenix Perennials and Specialty Plants Ltd.

    Hot Lips' attracts bees and hummingbirds! Prolific white blooms, kissed with pronounced crimson tips, cover the plant from late May till frost. (It's the crimsonyou'll notice.) Expect growth to 2 x 2 feet or wider if well-situated. Enjoys full sun and is drought-tolerant and deer-resistant. Minimum temperature: -10?F

    By: Dancing Oaks Nursery

    This drought tolerant perennial will add a flash of sassy color to any garden with it's bright white fowers, trimmed in bright red. Flowers summer through fall and will attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden.Pruning hard in late winter will encourage vigorous growth & continuous blooming in the spring.

    By: Garden World

    Sparkling cherry red and white flowers all summer. An outstanding selection from Mexico--heat, humidity, and drought tolerant. Very hot weather can favor some all red or all white flowers; they turn back to bicolor beauties in fall.

    By: Select Seeds

    Spikes of red lipped, pure white or occassionally solid red, tubular blooms are borne continuously from Spring to Fall on this durable drought and heat tolerant perennial.

    By: Almost Eden

    A selection from Strybing Arboretum, this shrubby salvia, to 3' tall, goes through two flowering stages; at first flowers are bicolor with hot red and white petals, then, as summer hits its height, pure white flowers appear. Best grown where heat accumulates and not much summer water is provided. Frost hardy into the mid-teens °F, mid USDA zone 8. Protect from winter extremes.

    By: Cistus Nursery

    The standard of the hardy Mexican Sages, this release from Strybing Arboretum has white flowers with red lips and is in bloom from spring until frost. Some flowers may be all pink or all white but mainly bicolored. Full sun and good drainage in lean soil and cut back in early spring.

    By: Far Reaches Farm

    Introduced by Richard Turner who found it at a friends’ house in Mexico, whose housekeeper, Alta Gracia, had been growing it outside her room. A cutting was brought back and first grown at San Francisco Botanical Garden (Strybing Arboretum). It has unusual red and white bicolor flowers. At times the plant will have all red or all white flowers, but it will always go back to the bicolored ones. Alta Gracia, being a spiritual woman, would probably not approve of the name 'Hot Lips' chosen by volunteer propagators at S.F. Bot., but we think it is well chosen. Grows to about 2-1/2’ tall to 6’ wide. Probably a sport of Salvia microphylla. Prune hard in late winter to encourage vigorous growth & continuous blooms.

    By: Annie's Annuals & Perennials

    Gardening facts about Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips' plant

    How to Grow Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips'

    • Sun Exposure

      • sun - mostly sun

    • Water Needs

      • regular - drought tolerant

    • Soil Needs

      • alkaline
      • average
      • lean
      • well-drained
      • rocky
      • gritty

    • Special Situation

      • heat tolerant

    Features

    • Foliage Color

      • green

    • Flower Color

      • white
      • red

    • Wildlife

      • beneficial insects
      • bees
      • hummingbirds
      • deer resistant
      • rabbit resistant

    • Flower Season

      • summer

    • Foliage Season

      • semi-evergreen

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