Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ Live Plant – 1ft Tall Red & White Sage in 6in Pot – Outdoor Flower

Overview

Introduce a burst of continuous color and charm to your garden with the exquisite salvia hot lips live plant. This captivating perennial sage, known scientifically as Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips’, is celebrated for its distinctive bicolor flowers that feature a striking combination of white petals tipped with a vibrant red. Originating from Mexico and parts of the Southern United States, Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ has gained immense popularity among gardeners for its prolific blooming from early spring all the way through to late fall, providing a consistent display of beauty when many other plants are fading. Its bushy, upright growth habit makes it an ideal choice for borders, containers, or as a vibrant accent plant in mixed perennial beds. This particular offering provides you with a healthy, established plant, approximately 1ft tall, ready to thrive in your outdoor space and become a focal point of admiration.

The name ‘Hot Lips’ perfectly describes the unique appearance of its tubular flowers, which resemble puckered lips. As temperatures fluctuate, the intensity of the red color can vary, sometimes appearing more red in cooler weather and more white in warmer conditions, adding an intriguing dynamic to its visual appeal. This adaptability, combined with its long flowering season and relatively low maintenance, makes the salvia hot lips live plant a must-have for both novice and experienced gardeners seeking to enhance their landscape with enduring beauty and pollinator-friendly blooms.

Key Benefits

The salvia hot lips live plant offers a multitude of advantages that make it an outstanding addition to any garden or patio. Its vibrant presence and easy-care nature ensure a rewarding gardening experience.

• Extended Bloom Season: Enjoy a spectacular display of red and white flowers from spring until the first hard frost in fall. This prolonged flowering period ensures your garden remains colorful and lively for months, providing continuous visual interest.
• Attracts Pollinators: The nectar-rich flowers are a magnet for hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies, helping to support local ecosystems and bringing delightful activity to your garden space. Planting a perennial sage plant like this contributes to biodiversity.
• Low Maintenance: This hardy perennial is incredibly easy to care for, requiring minimal intervention once established. It tolerates a range of conditions and is relatively pest and disease resistant, making it perfect for busy gardeners.
• Drought Tolerant: Once established, Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ is remarkably drought tolerant, making it an excellent choice for xeriscaping or gardens in regions with water restrictions. It thrives with less frequent watering compared to many other flowering plants.
• Versatile Landscaping: Its compact, bushy habit and continuous blooms make it suitable for various garden applications, including perennial borders, mass plantings, rock gardens, and container gardening on patios or balconies.
• Aromatic Foliage: Like many salvias, ‘Hot Lips’ features pleasant, slightly aromatic foliage that adds another sensory dimension to your garden, often deterring deer and rabbits.
• Vibrant Bicolor Flowers: The distinctive red and white salvia flowers provide a unique visual appeal, with the red tips varying in intensity based on temperature, offering an ever-changing display of color.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your salvia hot lips live plant is straightforward, allowing even beginner gardeners to achieve stunning results. Proper placement and basic care will ensure a thriving plant with abundant blooms. This salvia plant outdoor variety is quite resilient.

Sunlight Requirements: Provide your Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ with full sun exposure, meaning at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. While it can tolerate some partial shade, especially in hotter climates, full sun encourages the most prolific flowering and robust growth. In areas with intense afternoon sun, a little afternoon shade can be beneficial to prevent scorching, but generally, the more sun, the better for this plant.

Watering: When first planted, water regularly to help establish a strong root system. Once established, Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ is quite drought-tolerant. Water deeply but infrequently, allowing the soil to dry out completely between waterings. Overwatering can lead to root rot, so ensure good drainage. During prolonged dry spells, occasional deep watering will help maintain vigorous growth and flowering. The key is to avoid consistently soggy soil.

Soil Type and Drainage: This perennial sage prefers well-draining soil. It is adaptable to various soil types, including sandy or loamy soils, as long as they are not heavy clay that retains too much moisture. Amending heavy soils with organic matter like compost or grit can improve drainage. A slightly acidic to neutral pH (6.0-7.0) is ideal. Good drainage is paramount to prevent fungal issues and ensure the plant’s health.

Temperature and Hardiness: Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ is generally hardy in USDA Zones 7-10. In these zones, it will behave as a perennial, returning year after year. In colder zones (Zone 6 and below), it can be grown as an annual or overwintered indoors in a container. It thrives in warm temperatures during its growing season and can tolerate light frosts. Protect from harsh winter winds in the cooler end of its hardiness range with a layer of mulch.

Fertilization: This plant is not a heavy feeder. A light application of a balanced, slow-release granular fertilizer in early spring as new growth emerges is usually sufficient. Avoid over-fertilizing, especially with high-nitrogen fertilizers, as this can promote leafy growth at the expense of flowers. For container-grown plants, a diluted liquid feed every 4-6 weeks during the blooming season can be beneficial.

Pruning: To encourage continuous blooming and maintain a tidy shape, deadhead spent flowers regularly. A more significant prune can be done in late winter or early spring before new growth begins, cutting back the plant by about one-third to one-half. This rejuvenates the plant and promotes bushier growth. If the plant becomes leggy during the summer, a light trim can help encourage a new flush of flowers. This easy care makes the salvia hot lips care routine very manageable.

Size & Details

This offering includes one healthy salvia hot lips live plant, meticulously grown and prepared for shipment. Each plant stands approximately 1 foot (12 inches) tall from the base of the soil to the top of the foliage, providing a substantial specimen ready for immediate planting in your garden or a larger container. The plant is shipped in its original 6-inch nursery pot, ensuring its root system remains undisturbed and robust during transit, facilitating a smooth transition to its new home. This size is ideal for establishing quickly and beginning its vibrant bloom cycle.

Typically, Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ will mature to a height and spread of about 2-3 feet (24-36 inches) in good growing conditions, forming a dense, rounded shrub. Its growth rate is moderate, meaning you can expect to see significant development within the first growing season. The plant’s long-lasting flowers from spring to fall ensure a season-long display of the distinctive red and white salvia blooms. With proper care, this perennial will provide years of beauty and attract beneficial pollinators to your outdoor space.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this plant get? A: The salvia hot lips live plant typically reaches a mature height and spread of 2 to 3 feet, forming a bushy and rounded shape in ideal growing conditions. It grows at a moderate rate, filling out nicely within its first season.
• Q: What size pot does it come in? A: This plant is shipped in a 6-inch nursery pot, providing a healthy root system and a good start for transplanting into your garden or a larger decorative container.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ is primarily an outdoor plant, thriving in full sun in garden beds or containers. It is hardy in USDA Zones 7-10 as a perennial, but can be grown as an annual in colder climates.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: For the best blooming and healthiest growth, the perennial sage plant requires at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. It tolerates some partial shade, especially in very hot climates, but full sun is preferred.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ is considered a low-maintenance plant. Once established, it is drought-tolerant and relatively pest-resistant, making salvia hot lips care very straightforward for gardeners of all experience levels.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? A: Your plant will arrive as a healthy, established specimen, approximately 1ft tall, in its 6-inch nursery pot, carefully packaged to minimize stress during transit. It will be ready for planting upon arrival.
• Q: Is it shipped in soil? A: Yes, the plant is shipped actively growing in its original nursery pot with soil, ensuring its roots are protected and hydrated during delivery.
• Q: Can I use salvia hot lips in cooking? A: While many salvias are culinary herbs, Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips’ is primarily grown for its ornamental value. Its leaves are not typically used for culinary purposes like common garden sage (Salvia officinalis).
• Q: How long until it blooms? A: This established salvia hot lips live plant is likely to start blooming soon after planting, typically from spring through fall, providing a long season of vibrant red and white flowers.
• Q: When is the best time to plant? A: The best time to plant Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ is in spring after the danger of frost has passed, or in early fall in warmer climates, allowing it time to establish before extreme temperatures.