Thanks I had not seen the second variety you mentioned and I think it may be what it is because of the leaf size which is why I had such a hard time identifying it as well I think! Do you think in the shape their in I should plant in the ground now or just give it a larger pot until spring and let it recoup a bit? Any info is appreciated!! :)

I've had one of these for two years--I found it on the street on trash day and couldn't let it get tossed! It really suffers indoors during our short winter days, although I've been transitioning it outdoors into full sun as soon as I can (in Rhode Isand, that's been early May, partially because April is too wet for this guy). It also keep it under the eaves of my garage so that the rain doesn't reach it, to keep it on the dry side. suspect if you can give it a VERY sunny window and perhaps a plant light it will survive. Mine perks up and enjoys the summer but I have to agree that it's not ideal, and I feel bad that it is so far north. I wonder if you had success back in 2012 with this!

Do the flowers and leaves of your plant look the same as the ones in my photo? Is it possible your plant is the same and was sold under a different name? Sometimes the same plant is commonly known by a different name, depending on the region. Perhaps try googling the name you know your plant by and see if it has any AKA's. My original plants came from purchased seed that was labeled by the name I use and when I look up the plant online, it appears to be the same plant as the one I grow. On the Burpee's seed site, shown below, the description reads: "Salvia, Lady In Red Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. All-America Selection Winner. Lady In Red is a superb selection of the wildflower, Salvia coccinea, with its open and airy bright red, 6-8" spikes. Sow seeds indoors 8 weeks before last frost. Native wildflower." I would understand this to mean 'Lady in Red' is a superior performing version of the wildflower, Salvia coccinea. Perhaps you have the wildflower version of this plant, if not 'Lady in Red'. Mary Here is a link that might be useful: Burpee's seed description

Up here in OKC mine are doing the same with the leaf drop, I noticed this about a month ago and walked over to take a close look. Its way less than half of the leaves dropping but they just don't look right or as full & robust as usual. We haven't had a hard freeze yet so its something else, right now they look like they did a month ago. I blamed the unusually heavy spring flooding rains, perhaps a delayed reaction due to feeder root damage although I don't see any actual dying back of branches. I didn't have the dramatic blooms this year either. I got some blooming but nothing like what is typical when blooms smother the entire plant. I figured they are a bit mixed up or putting energy into root repair. Just guessing. I get lots of seedlings from mine, obviously they germinate easily in sand with gravel on top. I've started a few more plants. I've heard over and over about sand turning soil to cement. Not so in my case, just the opposite. The clay loam used to crack and get very hard on top every summer making it impossible to soak the soil in summer because I am on a slope and I was always adding organic matter to it. Once I brought in the piles of coarse sand I don't get cracks anymore. The only time I had a problem was after that heavy rain this spring when the soil was washing downhill and covering my gravel. After it dried out the top layer was like caliche or something with the gravel buried under it. It was as if the finest particles had floated up and dried into a hard impenetrable crust. Now things seem to be back to normal but there were spots I had to hack at to break up and expose the gravel. I had thought at the time the nay-sayers of turning soil into concrete were right after all but now I'm back to being glad for the sand. It made all the difference in my case. The worst thing about sand is every cat in the neighborhood will think your yard is a big public kitty litter box.