Hi Carl! S. koymae is generally available from Plant Delights. I had that in my old garden for 3 or 4 years at least and it went through several real z5 winters so I believe it is fully hardy in z5. Spreads gently but usefully. I remember seeing S. elegans Golden Splendor at a number of Public gardens in Chicago area this summer, and WOW, what a great foliage and bonus flower plant. I am looking for that one next year. As far as S. guaranitica is concerned, it overwintered near a S wall for me for 5 winters, though was very late to emerge in a few springs -- but emerge it did. Never cut it back till spring. And the trick is to find the real species and not one of the color selections. The original plant I got was from Blue Meadow Farm, an excellent but no-longer-mail-order (sadly) nursery in MA that listed it in their catalog as "solidly zone 6 hardy". Perhaps on one of your pilgrimages up to VT you could stop there and get some from them -- maybe they have plants from a colder provenance area. I find the straight species is tough to find -- the named selections like Black and Blue are more ubiquitous. And DirtDriver, of course you can grow the lush big tender ones! That's what we all lust after and grow. They may not make 10' shrubs in the heartland, but the vast majority can be easily grown from little cuttings into good big garden plants in one season. The only occasional problem are those that want to mature so late in the fall (S. mexicana here) that they don't want to bloom before hard freezes set in. So you move them into the living room (who cares about watching Jeopardy when you can stare at S.m. 'Limelight'-- in full bloom?)

I have the bog sage in the moist area at the bottom of my sunny slope...with a B&B just up behind it, too! I have an 'Adonis Blue' buddleia, agastache 'Blue Fortune', blue penstemon, caryopteris and amsonia for the blues on the slope, too. I have some yellow snaps and coreopsis for some contrast. I'm still working on the moist area, but have some blue nepeta subssellis at the feet of the bog salvia. When we have rain, the moist area is a rain garden and it drains slowly down to the drystream bed. The runners are very easy to pull. I have lots of space in the moist area, so I'll just keep it off the dry slope.

I've read that "Bog sage" really doesn't like to sit in water. Too much information! It will "bog" your mind!!! Below is the LINK to my Salvia photo site. You can see by the dates on the photos what salvias will still be blooming in September thru October every year here where I live. Well....Whatever that blue sage is GG, it is downright gorgeous! And your gardens are beyond description LOVELY! I AM JUST PLUM ENVIOUS of your gardening abilities and landscape artist's eye for layout and color! That's the plain truth. I wish I had half of yours. Fabulous color combinations, plant variations, textures and designs. And your deep, fertile soil....man! Annie Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Salvia photos

Thompson and Morgan might have it. Generally, New World sages do not set ample seed. The little seed that is formed is hard to collect efficiently. I would get plants over seed any day, especially of easily hybridizable sages. Uliginosa is a bog sage from subtropical Brazil. Do you have the means to water it where you live? Old World sages can be propagated best by seed, since they are usually bumblebee pollinated. If you are in a high mountain desert in the southwest, consider a visit to the Denver Botanical Garden which has a stunning display of Turkish and central Asian sages.