Looking for a plant you can neglect safely? This is it

Jac Semmler, author of the recent book Super Bloom: A Field Guide to Flowers for Every Gardener who says if she were “only allowed to grow one group of plants it would absolutely be Salvia”, plies her salvias with infrequent but deep watering.

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She especially likes to do it before a run of hot weather “to get in early” and to encourage roots to go down deep into her soil, which is sandy in some parts and clay in others. In her Frankston garden, she also applies a thick mulch (between 70mm and 100mm) of quality compost to ensure her soil retains moisture, regularly deadheads spent flowers and tip prunes to reduce the amount of foliage requiring water.

And she keeps close tabs. When she starts to see signs of wilting – whether it’s Salvia ‘African Sky’, Salvia ‘Rubin’, Salvia ‘Caradonna’ or any other of the many, salvias she grows – she knows “it’s time for another deep water”. “I am a little cautious of wilting because it’s easy to go from wilting to crispy.”

But salvias aren’t just for summer. They might all be part of the mint family, Lamiaceae, but salvias come from a diversity of climates, flower in different seasons and sport a wide range of forms, heights, textures and colours. Some are edible (common sage or Salvia officinalis being just the start) or medicinal and some (such Salvia elegans ‘Pineapple Sage’ ) make great companion plants in the vegetable garden because of the beneficial insects they attract. Birds love salvias too.

But perhaps the greatest boon of a salvia is how very easy it is to turn one plant into several. When the weather cools and we start moving into autumn, you can take cuttings from most salvias or divide herbaceous perennial ones. But be warned: once you start you won’t be able to stop.

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