Indigo Spires will get to be sort of 'wild' and about 4-5 ft. tall and hang in an arc at least that wide. The chiapensis will be a more controlled mound 3-4 ft. wide and tall. I would say you'd better move one of them and give them each 4-5 ft. spreading space.

If you figure a circle 5' round, then you need 2.5 feet on each side of the center of the plant -- which, of course, will get larger with time.

Oh my... didnt think they'd get that big, well at least the Indigo. I have it next to an Ixora Maui Red, about 2-3 feet apart and on the other the Chiapensis, same distance. I should perhaps move it another foot or two maybe?

Just picked up a Salvia Hot Lips this week... Is this another big one. I consider them to be big if they can get up to or over 5 feet tall and wide.

Thanks!

Hot Lips is a greggii, so I'm planning on the ones I just bought to be about 3' x 3' eventually

I've seen Indigo Spires close to seven feet tall in Sacramento. Beautiful, but WAY to big for my garden.

-Kristy

YIKES! but I will follow a good pruning routine to keep it up.. dont mind the height and width, as long as I can control it (Indigo).

Skrip: Mine start bloomimg at 5'. Did you want bloom? I don't think one uses the word "control" in the same sentence with "Indigo". :^)

mine (indigo) is about 16 inches tall right now and I can see about 4 or more blooms developing at the tip, so I guess that's a good sign as opposed to greenery til 5 feet for a bloom... phew!

I hope you guys get to catch this:

I just bought a small pineapple sage at Burkhard's yesterday and am trying to figure out where to place it. I was gonna start a new thread but if you guys can give me your experience info on it I'd appreciate it!

Hi Skrip,

We had an 'Indigo Spires' that I finally had to take out when its span reached 9 feet wide. :-) But you can keep it MUCH narrower by cutting out a lot of the side branches. That's what my parents' neighbors do.... they have a fairly sparse one in a narrow spot in front of their house, always blooming and never too big. I think they must cut it often. If you don't want to have to cut it a lot, I'd allow at least 5-6 feet.

We have a large S. chiapensis in our front yard, at least 5 feet wide, maybe 4 feet tall. Now, if I had had a chance to cut it down in late winter, it may never get that big. If you cut it down every year it would probably get to 3x3. This one is very happy in dappled shade, especially where it gets watering from lawn sprinklers. It likes "cloud forest" conditions.

Our neighbor has a grouping of 3 'Hot Lips' and I'd say each one reaches at least 4' wide.

You know, here in our zone, we have to allow a much bigger span and height then elsewhere because our growing season is so much longer.

Oh, and we also have pineapple sage (S. elegans). Do you mean the dwarf ('Honey Melon'), or the species which is bigger? We have both. The big one gets about 5 feet tall x 4 feet wide and grows in quite a bit of shade, mostly dappled, and blooms quite well there. I'm thinking of putting a cutting on the north side of the house and to see how it does there too. It can take more sun. The dwarf plant is a low-growing/spreading ground cover that reached about 5 feet wide before I took it out and put it in a pot.

I've had fun experimenting with the Salvias in different parts of the yard because they root so easily from just a cutting stuck in the ground. A few years ago I stuck a cutting of Salvia regla on the north side of the house. It took off and has profusely bloomed for two years. It's about 7 feet tall now. Also stuck a cutting of S. greggii on the north side last year, in a spot a little shadier than where S. regla is, and wetter because it gets less sun. It bloomed last year, it survived a VERY wet winter in heavy wet clay in the shade, and now it has buds!!! At most it will get a few hours of morning sun in the summer.

Jen

Chiapensis is a hummingbird magnet. For feeding and/or perching. My favortite new plant last year, and I bought alot. Mostly salvia. At this point, I thinking it didn't make it thru the mild winter we had. No protection and put the clones out to early. They will be replaced by three.

Jenn, I really like your idea of cuttings. I think I will do that around different areas on my property. That way I know what it likes best and in case my plant doesnt like an area, I wont completely lose it!

Thanks alot!

I think Pineapple Sage likes semi-shade in California's sun. I've had it in both situations and lose the ones in full sun by mid-summer everytime.

Jen: thanks for the FYI on the size of chiapensis and 'Hot Lips' .... I have some that will need to go in the ground soon. I'm wondering what that red and white will look good with.... perhaps lots of green?

Resurrecting an old thread....

'Hot Lips' will look great with purple/blue or yellow.

Our Pineapple Sage blooms very well in at least half shade, though it would be more dense with more sun. Another one that gets morning shade and afternoon sun (more sun than the other) blooms better and is more dense. From my experience with these two, I'd say it wouldn't like full hot all-day sun in summer..... unless it gets a LOT of water.

S. chiapensis is great in a pot, if you don't have room for it in the garden. We have several here and there in the ground and one in a pot. The one in a pot has stayed a few feet tall and it needs regular water (even in dappled shade). Hummers love it.

In the milder zones, I'd allow a couple of extra feet in addition to what the plant tag says.

Jen

Jen