Salvia ‘Golden Fountain’

Salvia 'Golden Fountain', known in most gardens as forsythia sage, is what you plant when the beds run out of colour late in the season. Salvia madrensis builds to about 2m tall and 1.5m wide in a single warm season, then throws up tall spires of clear yellow flowers just as everything else winds down. Honeyeaters and bees work those spires from the day they open.

Why you'll love it

• Flowers when the garden has gone quiet. The display arrives in autumn, filling the gap between the summer perennials and the first winter colour.
• Fast enough to fix a bare bed. It reaches roughly 2m tall and 1.5m across in its first full warm season.
• Birds and pollinators find it quickly. The nectar rich spires bring in honeyeaters, bees and butterflies.
• It copes with real Australian summers. Drought tolerant, heat tolerant and comfortable in humidity once the roots are down.
• One prune resets it. Cut it hard in late winter and it rebuilds the whole framework by autumn instead of going woody and gappy.

Where it works best

Feature planting. A single clump at the back of a mixed bed reads as a modest shrub most of the year, then a 2m column of yellow in autumn. Allow 1.5m so the stems arch freely.

Borders and mass planting. Plant 1m apart for a massed display. The clumps merge into a continuous band of foliage with the flower spires lined up along the top.

Soft screening. A row 1m apart screens a fence line or a pool pump through the warm months. The trade off is real: cut back hard in late winter, the screen disappears for a couple of months.

Growing forsythia sage in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the most flower spikes and the sturdiest stems. This is a plant for tropical, subtropical and warm temperate zones. It takes light frost only, so cold inland districts, the tablelands and hard frosting southern gardens need a warm sheltered wall.

Soil. Free draining soil suits it best. Work compost through the bed before planting and mulch 75mm deep, clear of the stems. On heavy clay, raise the bed rather than fight the drainage.

Water and feed. Deep soak once or twice a week through the first summer, then taper off. It is genuinely drought tolerant after that, though water through a dry autumn gives heavier flowering. A complete slow release feed in early spring is enough.

Pruning. Cut the whole plant back to about 30cm in late winter, after flowering finishes and before new growth starts. Tip prune in early summer for more stems.

What to expect when it arrives

This salvia is supplied as tube stock, currently listed on backorder, so allow extra time before dispatch. A tube is a young single stemmed plant, usually 15 to 25cm tall, which is how a fast growing salvia is best bought: it establishes quickly and catches a larger plant within a season.

Tubes travel well, and slight leaf droop on arrival is normal. Plant it out promptly, keep the water up for the first month, and expect the first proper flowering in the autumn after planting. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Getting new garden plants established
• Browse the full flowering plants range
• Compare bird attracting plants
• Plants for bees and butterflies

Common questions

When does it actually flower?

Autumn, at the end of the warm growing season, which is what makes it useful. The spires hold for several weeks and the show is heavier in a season with reliable water.

How far apart should I plant it?

One metre apart for a massed display or a soft screen. For a single feature clump, allow the full 1.5m width so the arching stems are not crowded.

Will it survive frost?

It handles light frost only. In a hard frosting garden the top growth is cut down. An established clump often reshoots in spring, but this is not a plant to rely on in a genuinely cold district.