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SEEING RED There are other red salvias, but my heart belongs to Sally! The Red Hot Sally salvia has beautiful green leaves that compliment red flower spikes. It grows to a height of 10 to 12 inches and can be planted in full sun or partial shade in well drained soil. It has a high heat tolerance but should be watered on a regular basis. This plant is great for flower beds or containers. I fell in love with Red Hot Sally back in New Orleans.Sally was the show-stopper in mass plantings on either side of a circular driveway at my New Orleans home. Those brilliant red salvia could be seen all the way from the street entrance to our long block. Everything grew and spread with constant humidity and soil the consistency of coffee grounds. An early Santa Fe garden lesson was that what grew "back home" did not necessarily and most likely would not do well in this dry climate. So, imagine my surprise when last year I spotted the Red Hot Sally salvia among new bedding plants at the local nurseries. Of course I was skeptical about this salvia doing well in Santa Fe. I have plenty of blue salvia which are lovely, but how I lusted for the bright red “Sally." What the heck…don’t know unless I try, right? I purchased a flat and planted some beneath a locust tree outside my kitchen window and the remainder in flower beds at our neighborhood entrance. They did great! The neighbors loved them. When one of my neighbors saw me planting them, he asked what they were called. I told him “Red Hot Sally salvia." About a month later when they were blooming in brilliant red glory, he saw me again and told me that he really did like those “sexy flowers."
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