How to Grow and Care for Salvia Love and Wishes

Salvia ‘Love and Wishes’ is a hybrid plant known for its long blooming period, producing flowers from late spring until the first frost. The plant features spikes of vibrant, magenta-purple flowers that emerge from dark burgundy calyxes. These blooms are held on dark stems, creating a striking contrast with the glossy, mid-green foliage. Its fast-growing, upright habit makes it a popular choice for adding vertical interest to garden beds and containers.

Growing Salvia Love and Wishes

For successful cultivation, planting should occur after the last frost has passed in spring, allowing the plant to establish its root system in warming soil. When setting multiple plants, space them two to three feet apart to ensure adequate air circulation. This gives them room to reach their mature size of around three feet tall and wide.

This salvia thrives and produces the most abundant flowers when located in full sun, requiring at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. In regions with intense summer heat, the plant can benefit from some light afternoon shade to protect it from stress. This tolerance for partial shade makes it adaptable to various garden settings.

Well-draining soil is required to prevent root rot. Once established, ‘Love and Wishes’ has moderate drought tolerance, but consistent moisture ensures the best flowering performance. Regular watering during dry periods helps maintain its lush foliage and prolific blooming. A yearly application of fertilizer in the spring also supports healthy growth.

Understanding the plant’s hardiness is important for its care. It is a tender perennial, suited for USDA hardiness zones 9 through 11 where it can survive the winter outdoors. In colder zones, ‘Love and Wishes’ is treated as a fast-growing annual. Alternatively, it can be grown in a large pot and moved to a sheltered location to overwinter.

Pruning and Maintenance

Pruning encourages a denser form and stimulates the production of new flowers. Throughout the blooming season, trimming spent flower spikes is beneficial. This practice, known as deadheading, redirects the plant’s energy into creating more blooms instead of seeds. This simple task prolongs the flowering display and keeps the plant looking tidy.

For gardeners in its perennial range (zones 9-11), a more substantial pruning is recommended in late winter or early spring. This involves cutting back the old, woody growth from the previous year to allow new shoots to emerge from the base. This annual hard prune rejuvenates the plant, ensuring it remains vigorous and maintains a desirable shape for the upcoming season.

Attracting Hummingbirds and Pollinators

Salvia ‘Love and Wishes’ is an excellent addition to a wildlife garden. Its profusion of nectar-rich flowers makes it a reliable food source for various pollinators. The plant blooms for an extended period, offering sustenance from late spring through autumn when other food sources may be less available.

The structure of the flowers is particularly appealing to certain pollinators. The deep, tubular shape of the magenta blossoms is perfectly suited for the long beaks of hummingbirds, which are frequent visitors. In addition to hummingbirds, bees and butterflies are also commonly seen foraging on the flowers, contributing to the biodiversity of the garden.