Hot Lips Sage

Hot Lips Sage (Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips') flowers for most of the year and changes colour while it does it. The plant makes a soft rounded bush about 1m tall and 1m wide, covered in small two lipped blooms that can be pure red, pure white, or red and white on the same stem depending on the temperature. Brush past it and the foliage releases a clean blackcurrant and mint scent.

Why you'll love it

• A flowering season that does not quit. It blooms from spring through summer and well into autumn, and in mild gardens it barely stops.
• Colour that shifts with the weather. Cool weather pushes the flowers white, heat turns them red, and the weeks between give the bicolour that earned the name.
• Birds, bees and butterflies. Honeyeaters work the tubular flowers and pollinators cover it on a warm morning.
• Fast, forgiving and aromatic. It reaches full size in a season or two, tolerates drought and heat once established, and smells good when brushed.

Where it works best

Borders and mass planting. Plant 80cm apart for a full, informal drift. At that spacing the bushes merge into a continuous band of flower without shading each other into bare stems.

Small gardens and feature planting. One plant is enough to carry a courtyard bed. Its loose shape suits cottage and native style plantings, and it sits comfortably in front of taller shrubs.

Pots and containers. A pot 400mm or wider suits a sunny balcony, with more water and a harder winter cutback to stay compact.

Growing Hot Lips Sage in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, with at least six hours a day. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens. It is frost hardy: in cold southern and inland districts the top growth dies back over winter and reshoots from the base in spring, so do not assume you have lost it.

Soil. Free draining above all else. It copes with average garden soil but will not survive a wet, heavy spot. On clay, plant on a mound with compost and coarse sand through the backfill.

Water and feed. Deep soak twice a week through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. A light feed of complete fertiliser in early spring is plenty; too much gives leaf at the expense of flower.

Pruning. This is the one job that matters. Cut the whole plant back by about half in late winter, and shear off spent flowering stems through the season. Without that annual cut it goes woody and open at the base within two or three years.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in 140mm pots, sold in packs of ten. That pack suits its main use: ten plants at 80cm centres cover about seven metres of border. Each arrives as a young bush, often carrying a few flowers, and reaches full size within two seasons.

Salvias are soft stemmed, so expect some wilting or a bent stem after transit. Water on arrival, keep them sheltered for a couple of days and they recover quickly. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse more bee and butterfly plants.
• Read about choosing the right edging plants.
• Compare the wider flowering plant range.
• Find companions among plants for small gardens.

Common questions

Why are my flowers all red, or all white?

Temperature. Cool weather produces white flowers, hot weather produces red, and the classic bicolour appears in between. The same plant will do all three across a single year.

How far apart should I plant it?

Eighty centimetres apart for a border or mass planting. Each bush spreads to about a metre, so that spacing lets them knit together while keeping air moving through the middle.

Does it die in frost?

It is frost hardy, but in cold gardens the top growth is knocked back and it behaves as a herbaceous perennial. Leave the dead stems over winter for protection, then cut them off.