Hot Lips Plant Salvia Microphylla Care
Hot Lips Plant – Know More About Salvias
The Hot Lips plant is an evergreen perennial that has the aroma of black currant and is known to the world for its distinct looking flowers. The flowers are bicoloured. They usually have white double lower lobes and a red hood. The plant flowers during the spring and the autumn months. These plants can be used in your garden landscapes as border plants or even can be grown as a mass planting. They can also be grown in containers and pots and are suited for wildlife and rock gardens. The botanical name of the Hot Lips plant is Salvia Microphylla. The flowers are variable and not always to the description. Masses of blooms may be totally red or white or pure white colour with red lipstick colour and hence it is named Hot Lips.
More About Hot Lips
The Hot Lips plant is a popular plant planted in Australian cottage style gardens like mine. It is a hardy perennial sage that flowers almost throughout the year. Plants can withstand most winters without a problem. Salvia microphylla hot lips plant can grow very fast and reach a height and width of up to 3 feet. The flowers attract insects all through the summer and autumn. Bees and butterflies love to linger around and pollinate salvia varieties. The plant grows in a branched form with dark stems and smaller leaves that are matte green in colour. The leaves are ovate and have a light covering of hair. When the leaves are crushed the Hot Lips plant will give out the black currant flavour. The colourful plant will start to bloom in its first year from tube size plants and will grow to its full size by the second year.
Hot Lips Growing Conditions
The Hot Lips plant prefers to grow in areas where there is enough sunlight. This plant will do well in partial sun or in full sun. The Hot Lips plant is tolerant to heat and drought but prefers to enjoy regular watering. Fertilising it regularly will help in good blooms during the months of January to March and November to December.
Watering the plant regularly during its first growing season will help in the development of a very good root system that will get well-established in the soil. Growing in cooler weather with adequate water and high nutrients will increase the red colouring on the flowers. The soil in which the plant grows has to be a well-drained soil. The plant can be propagated by stem cuttings.
Caring for Hot Lips Plant
To keep the plant happy it has to be pruned in a proper manner to encourage its growth. The sides of the shrubs have to be pruned first. Once you see regrowth on the sides, you can prune the centre. You can always trim the plant at its sides during the growing season in order to encourage its growth. Make sure that you do not prune it heavily
this can kill the plant. Adding fertiliser to the soil during the summer and the spring season will help the plant to grow and bloom well. You should remove the dead flowers and also prune the floppy branches after flowering. The Hot Lips plant will need to be fed with a good organic fertiliser before the new growth starts to appear in spring.
Information On Propagating Salvias
