Treasure Coast Free Press

Salvias are one of the easiest flowers to grow for attracting butterflies. These prolific flowering plants can provide year round color in the garden. Skipper, Monarch, Sulphur and Swallowtail butterflies love the nectar the flowers produce and seek out these plants. There are many varieties of salvia available in almost any color to the Treasure Coast gardener. The following are my favorites and the varieties I have had the most luck with. Pictured above are Mystic Spires (in blue) and White Flame Salvia.

Mystic Spires and White Flame Salvia

The two perennial salvias I have had the best luck with in my garden are Mystic Blue and White Flame. I cut these frequently for flower arrangements after enjoying the butterflies in the garden. The more you cut these the more flowers the plant produces. I water these daily in the summer and apply time release fertilizer when the season allows. The vase has the two Salvias, an Autumn fern and some succulents from the garden.

Tropical Red Salvia

If you are a fan of native plants, one of the easiest salvias to grow is Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea). This is considered a reseeding annual in areas that get frost and short lived perennial in our area – this means the plants last for a while, produce seeds and die. Essentially, they replace themselves. Given a sunny, well drained area once a few plants flower and produce seed you’ll have plants for life and seeds to share with friends. If they are really happy planting these may be a decision you live to regret. I have these growing in dreadful, unirrigated sugar sand where they happily flower with little care. It is one of my favorites for its indestructibility.

I am not trying to confuse things here. I know it called Tropical Red, but, depending on what insect pollinates the flowers and where they have been before, flowers may be produced in four colors – red, oranges, whites and pinks. Here is what has occurred in my garden.