If your garden lacks color in the fall, plant Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha) and pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) in the spring (that you bought at our spring herb sale of course). Buy at least three plants each for a large color display.
For a really striking colorful show in autumn, you can’t go wrong with pineapple sage (Salvia elegans).
In the late summer and early fall, these two plants provide lots and lots of color.
Both these salvias are annuals, so plant them after all danger of frost is past in the spring. The plants will look healthy all summer and grow very nicely.
Pineapple Sage
Pineapple sage grows to about three feet tall and wide at maturity, sometimes larger, depending on the weather and your soil. In late summer, small bright scarlet blooms start appearing above the light to medium green leaves (new growth is light green and mature growth is medium green). As time goes by, more and more bright flowers appear, and continue until frost.
Hummingbirds and butterflies visit pineapple sage flowers often. Hummingbirds love the tubular shape and butterflies like the bright red color.
Another attraction of the pineapple sage is its delicious pineapple fragrance. In addition, the leaves are edible. Add pineapple leaves to fruit salads. Make a tasty tea with leaves. Dry the leaves to add to potpourri.
Mexican bush sage
Mexican bush sage grows about two to three feet tall and wide, sometimes larger, depending on the weather, and soil, just like the pineapple sage.
The Mexican bush sage flowers are a very vivid blue, almost purple, with white edges. The flowers grow in gorgeous spikes of six to eight inches or more.
Snip Mexican bush sage flowers to save. Put them in a pretty glass vase, and they retain their color all winter.
Since pineapple sage and Mexican bush sage are both annuals, they will die when frost hits in the late fall. But purchase several more plants the following spring and enjoy the next autumn.