There are more than 900 species of Salvia mostly from Southern USA, Central and South America. Salvia semiatrata is a selection from higher altitudes of Mexico. It flowers in a series of flushes from mid summer to late autumn with two tone corollas that have a deep pink calyx thus giving the flowers a vibrance that makes them stand out from the plants around them. It is a medium sized Salvia growing to around 1.4m.
It is a popular garden plant in the French and Italian Riveiera gardens giving the plant its common name. It requires full sun, and a well drained rich organic soil with a regular deep watering in summer. It will tolerate light to moderate frosts if the drainage is good. Regular applications of Seasol and PowerFeed and a cut back in mid spring will keep it compact and looking good.
Grow with other Salvia like Christine Yeo, Coral and Salvia coahuilensis to have a mosaic of autumn colors or plant with Lavandula ‘Avonview’, Tellima grandiflora 'Forest Frost' and Penstemon ‘Osprey’ for a long procession of flowers.
