sounds like too much water... no buggies, right? apparently, it needs a MEDIUM amount of water. :o) Hopefully, now that I've posted, someone more knowledgeable will speak up... but this is what I've read.

I have the same problem with mine. I think I'm watering it too much though. I'm tempted to take it out of the pot and just plant it in the ground. I think that like most Salvias, it likes to grow on the dry side.

The black stems sound like black leg (Pythium sp). This can be caused by overwatering. If potted plants keep the same water about their roots, caused by overwatering, poor drainage, or a small plant in a large pot, pathogens have time to work on the roots and invade the vascular system of the plant. If your pot does not consume/drain its water in 2 or 3 days, it can get stale. The same is true for plants in heavy soil or in low areas prone to keeping puddles around for more than a day.

In extended rainy weather, I often have better luck keeping plants potbound rather than potting them up. They use the water so fast that pathogens don't have enough time to build up a critical population.

Here is a link that might be useful: black leg (Pythium sp)

I have the same problem in the ground.I've moved it to a area so it won't get as much water.I will see if this helps.Thanks.Debbie

Check out butterflybreeders.com on their tips section re. H2O2( hydrogen peroxide) for root pathogens. Hope this is helpfull. In Ft.Worth, where I am ,too much H2O is not a problem, but in Houston this summer has been very wet , so I refered a freind to this for an ailing crepe myrtle and it worked!! Good Luck!!

Mine have been the same way. I see no black on the stems. I have two in the front yard, one by the road and one on the side. The two in the front are really sick looking and that is where I really wanted them to stick out. They are very spindly looking, loosing leaves and not blooming very good. I've gone back and forth between more water, less water, fertilizing, adding lime, etc. I don't get what the difference is between these and the other two. I thought about digging up and amending the soil more to see if that would help but I'm afraid that in 90-95 degree heat that may be too stressful. At this point I'm not sure if it could hurt them anymore then they already are though. I thought this wouldn't be such a hard plant to grow. I'm also having a problem with my pineapple sage in the same area. It is about 2 foot diameter and about a foot high compared to the other one I have that is about 4-5 foot in diameter and just as high. It is huge compared to this sorry plant in the front.

I am new here and I have 3 blue & black Salvia that are outgrowing the beds I put them in....can they be split? I know nothing about them, this is my first year growing them.... any help would be sooo appreciated.
Thanks in advance!