Salvia ‘Ember’s Wish’ is one of the stand-out cultivars at the red end of the spectrum. Not a pure red, Robin Middleton describes the colour as coral, which is helpful. I think the photos here are fairly true to nature.
The ‘Wish’ series started as a chance seedling in a Victorian (Australia) garden, and are sold on licence. In my climate this is an outstanding plant; very well behaved and tough. It flowers abundantly and continuously through the year.
Habit
‘Ember’s Wish’ grows to 1 m as a dense bush. It tends to fit in between its neighbours so that you only see the flowers, which are abundant. The leaves are hairless, dark green on top, with a white sheen on the underside and prominent purple veins. Leaves are around 10 cm x 4 cm, arrowhead shaped, with bluntly serrated edges.
Flowers are borne above the bush on long stems, with coral petals and contrasting calyces that fade to yellow. The effect is striking and unique.
The plant never seems to need pruning here, and just maintains its tidy low shape. You could of course cut back spent flower spikes if you had time.
Propagation and cultivation
‘Ember’s Wish’ grows easily from cuttings, although my only problem with it is waiting for it to finish flowering so that I can take cuttings, which of course it never does. Flowering stems though can be cut back for purpose, and small laterals make good heel cuttings.
It grows in full sun on deep, well drained soil, and is remarkably drought tolerant for its lush dark green appearance.