Amy
Salvia farinacea and S.pitcheri will be dormant then return form the roots.S.coccinea you will need to let it reseed.
Salvia greggii may not perform to well for you it would be better to try Salvia microphylla which you can find from local nurseries who carry plants from Tawakoni Plant Farm
(Wills Point Tx.).They have a nice website that will give
plants for your USDA cold Zones (Zone 7).You may me able
to grow some of the German salvia's May Night,Snow Hill,etc.
S.uliginosa and S.madrensis which send out runners underground may eat up to much realestate for your taste.

If you want native seed grown on a farm (not harvested
from the wild) try Native American Seed. They carry S.farinacea,S.coccinea,S.azurea,S.penstemonoides and
S.engelmannii. The first three will be easiest for you to
grow because of your rainfall and cold.
Art

Art ~
Just now read your response, thanks. I've bought a handful of salvia over the last month or so without really paying a lot of attention to the specifics. I know I have one Snow Hill, one Evolution, a handful of Victoria Blue, one greggii, a mystery salvia that's large and purple, and one myster salvia that's dark/hot pink and scraggly (an adoption from the Lowe's clearance rack).

Next question: what is the salvia that's on the forum homepage?

~ Amy

Amy I think the pic is salvia elegans.

Re: Seed.

Is seed sets it will be found in the calyx, the calyx is the bit where the flower comes out, it will brown and dry and seeds will be found inside.

Annette

Amy:
Annette is right Salvia elegans or S rutilans that is another salvia you can get at lowes on the Bonnie Rack
(with the vegetables and herbs only in the spring) Pineapple
sage is very tender for me in Austin.The other plant plant
you can grow is a S.Guarnitica "Black & Blue". It also grows
on runners underground and has tubers as well it may do to well for you plant B&B in morning sun.When your
plants bloom Send some pics and we can identify them.
You plants should have a grower tag on them I am familiar
with many Texas growers and what they sell.
Annette nice S.involucrata or puberula pic.
Art

Thanks Art as far as I know it is Involucrata X Karwinskii, one of many varieties that floats around this country of mine.

Art ~

Send pics - that may be asking too much - I'm a whiz on the stuff I know how to do, but when you cross over into downloading . . .

In the meantime:
* flower looks a lot like S. coccinea "Lady in Red" & "Coral Nymph", including the spacing, habit, heart-shaped/triangular leaves, and filament/anthers -- only dark hot pink with green calyx
* color is very similar to S. dorisiana "Tutti Frutti" & S. greggii "Wild Watermelon" (are there two, b/c I found a S/g and a S. microphylla "Wild Watermelon"?)
* definitely not S. elegans - flower too elongated and leaves rounded at the base compared to mine

~ Amy

Amy
Sounds like you may have a species S.coccinea a Pink Form of it.
Should get taller than Lady in Red or Coral Nymph.
Sounds nice you may want to protect it this winter
especially if you get any snow.Wild Watermelon is a
microphylla cultivar. Wild Thing is a greggii cultivar.
Art

Thanks for all the helpful information.

I found my large purple mystery salvia at Blooming Colors yesterday - its a S. nemorosa "May Night".

One more dumb question: how would I "protect it"? I've heard of different things like burlap tepees, cardboard boxes, and mulch. What's best for these? We only get snow every 2-5 years up here in the metroplex, and usually just enough to turn the ground white & make everyone think we need to cancel school and work. (My DH is from Madison, WI - yes, I'm unevenly yoked, but I consider it a life-long ministry - and gets a kick out of all that. He'd like to cancel work when it gets above 95.) Decatur and the Red River are an entirely differently story. But we have dropped into the 20s and high teens each winter.

Okay, so I rambled a bit.

~ Amy

stumbled across a picture of "my plant" today, and it was labeled Stachys coccinea - it seems to be my plant

are they similar enough to Salvias, esp S. coccinea to be easily confused, or am I just clueless?

Amy
S.x sylvestris "Maynight" and Stachys coccinea should not be a problem for you in Dallas.Texas Betony has coral colored flowers that circle the stem. California Salvia's
do this too ie clevelandii,columbariae,dorrii,etc..Salvia coccinea the flowers don't circle the stem.There are other plants that are in the same family (Mint Family)like Monarda,Scutellaria,Phlomis,Physostegia ,Rosemarinus, and more.They may look like salvias without being one.The other
group is some of the acanthus ie; shrimp plants,flame
acanthus,etc..A simple way of protecting your plants is
cut you plants back hard(about the size of a 5Gallon plant
container)mulch first put old towels over the crown the
night it getting cold. Put the container over it and
a brick or something to keep the container in place.
The cardboard box is ok but if it get wet then it will
collapse. I would use winter protection cloth not burlap
as the burlap has holes that will not protect very well.
Art

Stachys coccinea might just as well be a Salvia from the point of view of what it does and what it likes! The big bugbear is winter wet, I guess much less of a problem for you than me. If you can keep it dry it should survive.

There will be plenty of salvias that will overwinter with you without much bother, but there are so many to choose from it's difficult to recommend without knowing your tastes. Try anything you fancy that claims to be hardy! Cuttings are easy and this is something that tends to be forgotten by those lucky souls who live in warm climates - insurance! Take a few cuttings off everything dodgy in August (or later if you have warm autumns - sorry, falls!), select the best of each and line them up on a windowsill over winter, watering just enough to keep them alive (or, of course, in the greenhouse if you have one). Even if they are looking very unhappy by spring, you can pinch them back and repot and feed them and there you have replacement material if you have lost anything (and presents to give away if you haven't!).

I don't know what molluscan pests if any you have, but I have to be very careful abut leaving protection over plant crowns for too long - slugs and snails get in there and eat every shoot, and sometimes well down into the plant, if I'm not careful.

Best of luck!