I don't know what part of the country, 6b might be for cold tolerance salvias?
Salvia greggii, s. microphyllas can take cold weather salvia coccineas might grow as annuals.
Others salvia arizonica, s.azurea var. grandiflora, s.flava,
s. pratensis,& s. transylvanica are cold hardy.

Azurea may be hardy for you . Salvia coccineas would grow as annuals but may reseed. They are very easy to grow from seed and bloom all summer.

Penny

The Greggi are by far the best for me in my climate. They start blooming in March or April and go through October easliy, so they are the main constant food source. The other thing that attracts me to them is the fact they are evergreen and provide something nice to look at in the winter.

I would pass on the Numerosa. I had one a few years ago and all it did was attract the bees. I finally bit the bullet and dug it up. Greggis and Microphyllas can be grown in zone 6 but may or may not survive the winter depending on where they are planted. If they are in a raised bed with good drainage and receive enough sun they have a chance of winter survival.

Penny

It is a bit colder here than where you are, and all I get are Ruby-Throats.. but they love Clary Sage. It is a biennial that reseeds for me. I also have regular table sage- they love it, but sometimes it is done by the time they get here; I don't see my first hummer until May. I have Salvia May Night- they visit it some, but it is more bee-territory. Last year I had 'Black and Blue' and 'Wild Thing' (sorry, don't know what types of salvias they are) and both were visited more than May Night, but less than Clary Sage.

Salvia B&B came back some winters for me. The hummers liked salvia farinacea which is easy to find in garden centers and might winter over if mulched, depending on the winter. Pineapple or honeydew melon sage are tender but very fast growing. Honeydew melon blooms earlier and quits earlier than the pineapple. Purple Majesty blooms late for the fall migrants. I pot it up and ignore it in an unheated room all winter.

The hummers in my zone really go for the S. Leucantha!
That is their favorite. They also go crazy for the
Indigo Spires.

I bought some Greggii's and hopefully they will like them as well when they start to bloom next month.

I had Salvia gaurantica (black sepals, dark blue trumpet)which was visited somewhat eventhough cats visit our bach patio quite frequently.

ALberto1444

I've grown quite a few species of Salvia. The only one that didn't attract hummingbirds was Salvia splendens (the annual sold 'Salsa Mix'), but other people here claim they have had reasonable luck with Salvia splendens and hummingbirds.

Currently I have Salvia 'Waverly,' Salvia gesneraeflora, and Salvia blepharophyla blooming. The hummingbirds like all of them.

They will use Salvia splendens if there is nothing better avalilable.

Penny

Awwww Penny - I just got home from Lowe's with a couple dozen s. splendens and now I read these comments and I think I goofed. If it wasn't such a hassle I would take them back. I did find several references on the internet listing s. splendens as a good hummingbird plant but now I wonder if I wasted my bucks. I should've gotten Lady in Red instead. I have practically nothing that is blooming right now so I wanted to get something that already had flowers ready the hummingbirds when they arrive. I got one ninepack that's all red and three six packs that are assorted colors. Maybe it will at least hold them here until some of my other plants start blooming.

After reading a couple posts on this subject, I'm now realizing that alot of the flats of red-flowering salvias that I've seen over the years, are probably S. splendens. I've never bought any before but I do want to get some type of red-flowering salvia this year. I will definitely keep and eye on the tags to try to make sure I get S. coccinea if I can find it, which at least is indicated to be a good reseeder.

Christie,
If nothing else the splendens will be a bright beacon for them and they will investigate the splendends. If you have a chance go back to Lowes and get the Lady in Red. You won't be sorry, I guarantee it.

Jenny
The Lady in Red or any of the coccineas will more than likely be in larger 6 inch pots as opposed to the multi paks as they have too big of a root system for the multipacks unless they are little seedlings. Once they have developed 2-3 sets of true leaves there root system is already too extensive. One year I did use the splendens to put out very early before anything else was available. The bright red of the Bonfire did do the trick and then they went right to the feeders.

Penny

Thanks for the heads-up Penny! There is one small nursery right near me that I go to that I discovered sells many hummer plants. In the past, I didn't pay much attention to what they had other than what caught my fancy to try to grow. But now that I am more knowledgeable about the types of plants that hummers like thanks to folks like you, I now realize that they go out of their way to offer these types of plants. I will probably try there first when looking for salvias. I bought my agastache from them around mid summer last year and I was really happy with it, moreso now because it survived the winter in my container!

My S. Greggii 'Caviar' is in bloom and the hummers love it!
Plus it is such a pretty shade of coral red...

I am wondering if anyone can tell me what a black and blue looks like...am not familiar with this one. .Penny thanks for the info on coccineas versus splendens...I really have a lot to learn - so I guess I should look for bigger pots?
Also thanks for the tip on the hummingbird forum about my salvia mulberry jam. I will try hardening it off. Have been working in the garden this a.m. just digging up weeds and cutting back my russian sage.

Here's a pic of Salvia guarantica 'Black and Blue':

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Hope that helps!

Jenny - Yes that certainly helps! And it is beautiful! Hope that I can get some here in CT...don't remember seeing it but will surely do so now that I have this picture.
Thanks so much!
Carol

Great pic of the Black and Blue. Hoping mine really takes off this year. It is new in my garden :)

I was pleased with how intense the color was on it, plus it was a good, consistent bloomer!