steblac:
Yes both are evergreen you should find S.coccinea,miniata,
chiapensis,splendens and guaranitica long flowering as well.Some
hybrids like Indigo Spires,Mystic Spires and Purple Majesty
should be very showy.
Art

I would agree with S. microphylla and greggii at the top of the list. S. leucantha, elegans, guarantica and aurea have been long-flowering for me in S. California.

Besides S. guaranitica, I would add S. miniata for zone 9 gardens. It can almost become a weed in Florida. It does well in our hot, humid summers.

Thanks for the advice, I will look into them

For the 2nd year in a row the greggii hybrid Cherry Queen won the first to bloom competition. The first flowers opened this morning, a pleasant sight after a winter that featured temperatures as low a 3F. It is blooming when some of the other greggii/microphylla are just barely sprouting and others may require an obituary. Cherry Queen will be in bloom until hard freeze in the fall.

The one here that never seems to stop is:
Salvia gramhammii x lemmmonii Maraschino Cherry
Perennial shrub
3Â x 3Â+w
medium green ,heart-shaped, fruity scented
Brilliant red flowers

I wonder if it is the weather Westelle because most summers my Maraschino mostly shuts down in mid summer and doesn't get rolling again until the weather begins to cool off in late September. Usually by season's end it is around 5 feet tall and hanging out in traffic.

I find my coral wild collected S. Microphylla flowers first
S.grahamii and lemmonii don't do well in the Texas weather.
Even some of the f2 jamensis hybrids don't start blooming before this wild collected microphylla. I also agree weather
play's a very significant role in how plants behave.We had hail a month ago and plants are blooming their heads off.
Art