Well, to judge by my garden, salvia uliginosa does well in NoVA. Mine has spread a bit in two growing seasons and I think it could be quite pushy in moister soil or wetter years. It's about 6' tall and blooms a stunning sky blue. It's always covered with bees and other things that buzz and it blooms (and this is not just plant sales hype) from the time the stems reach full heights - say late May - until the plant is cut down by frost in October. This is often the last one, with Blushing Knockout, to stop blooming each year.

What's bad about it - it does spread. And while I wouldn't say it flops, it does sort of fan out. Stalks in back will be pretty vertical, but the ones in the front will be close to horizontal.

Salvia guarantica varieties like 'Black and Blue' are not really hardy for me, but they're beautiful enough that I think they're worth digging up in the fall and storing in the basement for the winter. They're a pretty dramatic plant when fully-grown (3' or so).

Salvia patens is another lovely one, but it's smaller.

Black & Blue should be hardy with half way decent drainage. I don't cut it down until spring, and that may help, I've had 3 good clumps established for at least 4 years now. Salvia microphylla ÂSan Carlos Festival is also hardy here. Again, don't cut back til spring and it will winter over in the ground. I still haven't cut that one back yet, though I chopped B&B a few weeks ago.

Worth growing any Salvias that catch your eye, just check the zone and avoid wet feet in winter. But you can grow the tender ones in pots and drag to cellar or gh for winter. Just cut them back and let them go dormant. A nice book to get is the latest version of Betsy Clebsch's 'Book of Salvias.' I have the older edition, think the new one is something like 'New Book of Salvias.'

Thanks so much for the replies. I do want to get Uglinosa. Why do they call it "ugly"-something, when it's so beautiful? The mysteries of taxonomy.

Leslie, did you try staking it with any success? Or planting something else close by that would provide some support? Just curious.

Cynthia, I did read somewhere not to cut them down till Spring as the stems are hollow. Equally, I read about people swearing by cutting down to ground in Fall and covering up with leaves. I left my Elegans and only cut it down a week ago (NOT that I'm expecting it back!!). Anyway, when you down the San Carlos and B&B, do you cut all the way to the ground, or otherwise?

I also read on the MD Coop extension that Salvia Azurea was listed as a perennial. So I might have to try that one too. I live in norther Balt city, close to the county line. But I'll try to put them in protected areas.

My Elegans is awesome. It sailed through the first frosts, and was the last thing blooming. The leaves have a wonderful pineapple scent when crushed. And the flowers are a vibrant red! It is so totally worth it to be grown as an annual, and the cuttings root really easily. I can't sing its praises enough.

I'll see if I can bring some of the s. uliginosa to the swap. I did stake it last year, but too late in the season and I probably needed more than one stake per plant.

They are growing between a rose and an azalea so they lean on the shrubs. The rose, predictably, drops leaves in protest. The azalea simply disappears for a month or two. I actually appreciate the flopping since it allows the plant to display flowers in a big, rounded arc. If I pruned it on time, though, the plant might bloom with the same effect.

Hmmmm....pruning. Now there's an idea!

My salvia guarinitica 'Black & Blue' in 2 different protected, well-drained spots, doesn't seem to have made it. I'm trying again w/ salvia nemerosa 'Viola Klose' & 'Caradonna' for salvia. I'm afraid the only really strong blue-purple perennial that overwinters for me is nepeta & sometimes agastache.

Leslie,
I'd love some of the uglinosa at the swap. If my elegans has grown a bit by then (it's a sprig right now), I'll bring a cutting. It grows very fast to 4-5 feet once it takes off when it gets warmer.

It sounds like Pruning might be the key to the flopping...

Thanks