Description
Scarlet sage is an annual of the mint family (Labiatae). It comes from Brazil. The plants are compact and 25–50 cm tall. The square stems are soft and juicy at first, becoming slightly woody with time, and branch strongly at the base. The leaves are egg-shaped, on stalks up to 10 cm long.
Scarlet sage flowers from June to September. The flowers are intense red, two-lipped and narrow, 5–6 cm long, surrounded by a coloured calyx fused halfway; they are gathered at the tips of the stems in racemes up to 10 cm long.
Requirements
Scarlet sage needs fertile, well-cultivated, humus-rich, moderately moist soil and a sunny, sheltered position.
Propagation
The plants are propagated from seed sown in February in trays in a greenhouse, at 16–20°C during germination. The seedlings need pricking out twice: first when the seed leaves form, then when the first two true leaves appear. At the second pricking out, the plants can be moved to a heated cold frame or to pots 8–10 cm in diameter. Plant sage out in its final position at the end of May or beginning of June, 20 x 25 cm or 30 x 30 cm apart.
Care
Grow in fertile, not too dry soil in a sunny spot. Extra feeding increases flowering.