i grow this on the west coast of the south island, nz.
we get hot summers, cold winters and a lot of rain.
i have an outdoor ‘mother plant’ and raise a steady stream of indoor cuttings.

my experiences differ from the other guides. here’s what i did:

for the outdoor momma, i took my purchased cutting, and grew it indoors for a few months, kept moist with a tent, watered infrequently, kept out of direct sun.

when it got going, i split it into more cuttings, and did the same. eventually i had 4 plants, going strong, but a lot of fuss.

i planted one outside, in the summer. i gave it a diffusing shade of white plastic, with a jury-rigged ‘greenhouse’ of an old window, plastic front and top, and an open easterly side. the plant got morning sun, but was protected from midday and afternoon rays by a tree. i filled a whole lot of milk bottles with water and placed them on the ground around it, to protect it from the winter frosts.

it rewarded me by bushing out, growing about 6 foot tall, after 3 months, the plastic disintegrated in the UV, and the plant made beautiful purple flowers, and grew 3 inch, sturdy leaves, quite pale. i trimmed it back for winter and it survived, and flourished in a hardy way again. and we had a terrible year. out of season frosts, little sun, tons of rain. so its tough.

the indoor ones get left in kitty litter trays of water, constantly wet. they LOVE it. the one that gets full morning sun goes well, as do the ones in strong diffuse light. the ones in low diffuse light are a bit weedy, but otherwise fine.

cutting i grow in milk bottles with water in then, just stick the cut stem in, until it grows a beard of roots, then pop it into potting mix, water it well, and then keep watering it every few days.

since i got busy, i usually only water them once a week, and a lot. at least an inch of water for them to stand in. they go great. only problem is whitefly and aphids, but i remove them mechanically.

i do remove leaves, if they look past it (that’s the whole point, after all)

oh, and they get a lot of respectful hard love.

so there you go. salvia? easy….