Thanks! Yes, I'm prone to bold colors this year after such a drab display I had last year. I love how this particular color looks en masse. So I either have to spend $$ and fill it out or wait for it to spread. I'm tempted to buy a couple more. @rouge21, I'm not sure why I thought that. I remember reading about someone else here who was sceptical and asked the question, but I've read in some places that it's hardy to zone 4. My tag says zone 5. Regardless I think I will be ok, although I lost my beloved Harvest Moon - it never came back this year. Here it is, it was a small plant that never really grew as big as the pink ones but it stood out so gracefully from everything around it. RIP, Harvest Moon.

I see places/people that sell S. darcyi seeds, but I got a plant from Bustani Plant Farm. I'm very high on their plants, and they are as reasonable as you will find. I think Rich Dufresne, A World of Salvias, has 3.5" pots for $5. He is very prominent in the Salvia industry and appears frequently on the Salvia Forum here. If you have questions, there are a ton of knowledgeable people there. I kind of have to discount the Californians - sorry if I offend anyone - because our growing conditions are so different from them, even tho they are the native Salvia capital of the US. S. darcyi has some of the biggest flowers of any of the Salvias, and they are a bright, bright red. Supposedly hardy to our zone, it will be tested this winter. I have never been really happy with anything from Plant Delights. I know, I know, lots of people love them, etc. But Bustani has given me much better plants that survive better as well. You almost have to be there at exactly the right time to collect Salvia seeds. I will try to save some for you. I have been trying to grow S. subrotunda from seed, without success, for 2 years now. I get mine from Sample Seed Shop for $2 a packet. The guy in Arkansas usually has a lot of Salvias for sale as well, and fairly well priced, altho he has gone up a lot in the last 2 years. Dogwooderitternet? There is also a lady at taste.ecrater.com that sells a number of Salvia seeds, but her seeds are expensive. Specialty Perennials also sells a number of Salvia seeds, but not S. darcyi. They do, however, have S. penstemonoides, which I would really like to have, too. But, check out Rich's site. It is fun to go thru his list if nothing else. Susan Here is a link that might be useful: A World of Salvias

Hello, I just went out to my planter and found a half buried tag, and realized that what I have is NOT Hot Lips, but Navajo Red! Sometimes the flowers come with a mix of whitish-pink on them, so I think that's why I thought it was Hot Lips. Most of the flowers have been bright red, though. Sorry for this big faux pas - I am obviously new to salvias and don't know much about them. Thanks!

We get an occasional day down to 0F, but generally not a sustained period of time down to zero, in Oklahoma anyway. Generally, the lowest temp we get is down to 15F, and even that is for short periods of time - maybe 2 to 3 days. Sustained freezing temps would be what I'd worry about, and in your zone that is probably the norm. At those temps, the roots would freeze, and the plant would most likely die. Our soil rarely freezes in Oklahoma, but there are rare exceptions to that rule, and it depends on what kind of winter protection you provide. Last winter we had an abnormally cold winter, and several of my borderline zone 7 plants did not come back, e.g., Lantana 'Miss Huff', and I experienced significant die back on my Passiflora 'Lavendar Lady' (it did come back very, very late - July - in a different spot). Also, with Salvias that like drier, well-drained soil. the problem in your zone would probably also include freezing cold, wet roots. Our zone 7 is considered a "temperate" zone. Meaning, our winters generally don't get cold enough that the soil freezes, and sometimes we can "push" tender plants hardy only to zone 8 with winter protection. I have heard of some folks in colder zones that are able to winter over zone 7 plants by heavy, heavy mulching. But these people were in zones 5 to 6. In 3 to 4, I just doubt that it can be done, unless you experience an extremely mild winter. It's all kind of "iffy". My zone 7 Salvias would probably not have survived last year's winter due to the cold, wet conditions. Wet cold means death for a lot of borderline, temperate plants. IMHO, I would definitely move 'Hot Lips' indoors for the winter. Susan