It seems there may be at least a couple of varieties of Salvia out there that act differently with regard to the weather. I bought about a dozen identical looking plants from Lowe's labeled purple Salvia and two showed no reaction to a hard frost while the others are frostbitten.

Bobbygil, I'm in your zone....due West between Atlanta and Birmingham. There are hardy or perennial salvias and there are more annual salvias. Do you know which kind you have? The kind that are sold in six packs and typically come in a mix of red, white and purple are usually annual types in our zone. If you bought something that was more like a 1 gallon size it's likely it could be a Perennial variety. 'May Night' is the most common perennial one I see being sold.

If it's an annual salvia and you want to try to overwinter it then keep it in the pot and protect it until Spring. Frankly even if it's a perennial variety you might want to consider waiting til' Spring anyway. It would probably be ok to still put in the ground now but you could wait until Spring to be on the safe side. The perennial types will overwinter in the garden here but they still need time to adjust and root into their new surroundings before freezing temps hit them. Temps are unusually warm right now but I think Saturday is going to drop down into the mid-twenties. And who knows what things will be in 2-3 weeks.

Danielle

Dani...I grow a lot of salvias but was just wondering if I am better off with them in a 4 inch pot and babying them until next spring or getting them in the ground now. They are microphylla San Carlos Festival, Stormy Pink greggii and Silke's Dream Salvia. They came from mail order but are about 8-10 inches and look healthy. Dani...there is not a lot between Atl and Birm. have you found any nurseries worth going to. I go mostly to Athens now. thabnks bobby

Bobby, it sounds like you probably know more about Salvias then I do. I am not familiar with the ones you listed, I'm just used to plain old garden center stock or an occassional plant trade acquisition.

Others may be more knowledgeable but my advice would be to repot them into bigger pots and wait to plant them out next Spring if you think you can keep them watered through winter. I used to be terrible about remembering to water things I've brought in for winter so often plants stood a better chance outdoors against freezing temps than they would against my neglect.

But the impending cold snap makes me nervous about planting something like that out so late in the year even though our winter has been warm up til' now. The 4" pots will dry out quickly and will require much more frequent watering. I think I'd repot them into at least 1 gallons if they are 8 - 10" high.

I know of no good garden centers in my immediate area. There used to be one in Anniston I went to but I think they are out of business now. I know there are some very nice Pikes Nurseries in Georgia but we have none at all in our vicinity, I'm on the AL side of the state line. And some Pikes aren't worth the trip. The only nursery that I love making a road trip to once a year is the Growers Outlet in Loganville, GA. If you've never been before, you should definitely go...it's an experience They close during the winter but will re-open in February. Apparently they also close in the middle of summer when temps are too high for planting to be advisable. We usually go sometime in April or May. They have to have a cop directing traffic at the street entrance and you often have to park at another business and walk to get into the nursery there are so many people trying to get in. They have everything from annual bedding plants to vegetables to Perennial flowers and shrubs in all kinds of sizes and VERY cheap prices compared to garden centers. You can often find small pots or flats of perennials for cheap that you would normally have to pay much more for a larger size in a Lowes or Home Depot. I usually prefer to buy younger cheaper plants if I can get more of them and grow them on for an extra year or two.

It's a little disorganized at times but it's kinda fun looking through everything to find something cool for a great price. I've bought daylilies, heirloom tomatoes, large evergreen shrubs, heuchera, knockout roses, blueberry bushes, elephant ears, annuals, all kinds of stuff.

I put the link below for you if you want to check out their website but this time of year there isn't a plant list up.

Here is a link that might be useful: Growers Outlet -- Loganville, GA