Ornamentalherbaceous perennialStraightforward

Salvia

Salvia nemorosa

A long-flowering border perennial that is excellent for pollinators, drought-tolerant once established, and largely ignored by slugs — an unusual combination. Scoped to the hardy herbaceous species; the shrubby tender salvias sold alongside them need lifting or replacing each year and are a different plant to grow.

Position: Full sun
Water: low demand
Drainage: Free-draining
Grows to: 45–90 cm × 30–60 cm
Hardiness: H6
Flowers: June to September
Difficulty: Straightforward

August

In flower

Coming next month: plant.

Salvia’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

Activity	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Plant				April.	May.				September.
In flower						June.	July.	August.	September.
Prune							July.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

Conditions it needs

Light: Full sun
Frost: Very hardy
Hardiness rating: H6 (RHS)
Grows best at: 15–26 °C
Soil: Loam, Sandy, Chalky
Soil pH: 6–7.5
Drainage: Free-draining
Water needs: low
Drought: good tolerance
Waterlogging: poor tolerance
Heat: good tolerance
Wind and exposure: good tolerance

Where these figures come from

LightSourced guidancehigh confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Salvia — position

Checked 2026-08-13

FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Salvia — hardiness

Checked 2026-08-13

Hardiness ratingSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings

Checked 2026-08-13

Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Salvia — temperature

Checked 2026-08-13

SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Salvia — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Salvia nemorosa — culture

Checked 2026-08-13

DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Salvia — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

Winter wet is the usual cause of losses, as with most Mediterranean-type perennials.

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

Soil	Verdict	Why
Heavy clay	Works, with one condition	Salvia will crop on heavy clay, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Sandy	Prefers this soil	Sandy suits Salvia as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Sandy soil is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. It stands dry conditions better than most, which this soil will test.
Chalky and alkaline	Prefers this soil	Chalky and alkaline suits Salvia as it stands: The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Chalky soil is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. It stands dry conditions better than most, which this soil will test.
Loam	Prefers this soil	Loam suits Salvia as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Silty	Prefers this soil	Silty suits Salvia as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Peaty and acid	Works, with one condition	Salvia will crop on peaty and acid, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Shallow over rock	Prefers this soil	Shallow over rock suits Salvia as it stands: The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. It stands dry conditions better than most, which this soil will test.
Made ground and urban soil	Works, with one condition	Salvia will crop on made ground and urban soil, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height: 45–90 cm
Mature spread: 30–60 cm
Rooting depth: 40 cm
Spacing: 40–60 cm apart

Where these figures come from

Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
SpacingSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Salvia — spacing
Checked 2026-08-13

Measured centre to centre. Plants set closer than this compete for light and water long before they look crowded, and the crowding cannot be undone once they are in.

In a container

Minimum volume: 10 litres or more
Minimum depth: 25 cm

Where the container figures come from

Minimum volumeHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Minimum depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

Method	Suitability	What it needs
Open ground	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Traditional dug bed	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Raised bed	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Container	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13	10 litres; Free-draining compost
Hydroponics	Not suitable source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13

Growing it

PruningCut the whole plant back by about half once the first flush of flowers fades in July. It reliably produces a second flush into September, and a plant left uncut simply stops.
ProtectionLeave the old stems standing over winter rather than cutting down in autumn. They protect the crown, and cutting a salvia hard in November on heavy soil is a common way to lose it.
WateringWater new plants through their first season and established ones hardly at all — the shrubby and border salvias are dry-country plants and their weakness in a British garden is a wet winter rather than a dry summer. Plant them in the sunniest, sharpest-draining position available and resist improving the soil with anything moisture-retentive. The tender kinds in pots are the exception and want regular summer water, but should be kept nearly dry once they are moved under cover for the winter.
FeedingVery little. A light mulch in spring is enough for the hardy border kinds, and feeding produces tall soft growth that flops and flowers less — the classic result of a salvia in rich ground. Container-grown tender salvias, which are growing hard in a small volume all summer, are the exception and take a fortnightly high-potash feed from June until the end of August. Stop then, so the growth firms up before they come under cover.

Where this guidance comes from

PruningSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Salvia — care
Checked 2026-08-13
ProtectionSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Salvia — winter
Checked 2026-08-13
WateringSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Salvia — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13
FeedingSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Salvia — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13

The bud you cut to becomes the new shoot, and it grows in the direction it points — which is why an outward-facing bud opens the plant up and an inward-facing one crosses the middle.

What goes wrong

Problem	How often	Notes
Spittlebug	common source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13
Rosemary beetle	occasional source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13	The same beetle as on rosemary and lavender, and the same hand-collection.
Powdery mildew	occasional source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13

Sources for this page

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Royal Horticultural Society

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.