How to Grow Hot Lips
Wikimedia Commons
Hot Lips
Salvia splendens 'Hot Lips'
flowerHot Lips is a striking cultivar of Salvia splendens featuring distinctive bicolored tubular flowers with bright red outer petals and contrasting white inner lips. This tender perennial, typically grown as an annual, produces dramatic spiky blooms that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. It's prized for its long flowering season and vibrant visual impact in gardens and containers.
When should you plant Hot Lips in your zone?
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Example Hot Lips timeline · Pittsburgh, PA (Zone 6b)
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Plant Hot Lips
Around Apr 17Near Pittsburgh's average last spring frost.
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Tend & protect
Late spring–summerWatering, feeding, and pest-watch reminders.
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First Hot Lips blooms
Around Jun 16≈ 60 days after planting
Sample dates for Pittsburgh, PA. Sign up to get exact Hot Lips dates for your own zip code.
Growing Conditions
Soil
Growing Zones
Find your zone →Thrives in zones 10-11; grown as annual elsewhere
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Seedling
3-4 weeksTiny seedlings with first true leaves emerging; fragile and slow-growing initially
Keep soil moist but not soggy. Provide bright indirect light. Maintain 70-75°F for best germination. Thin seedlings or transplant into individual pots at 2-3 inches tall.
Vegetative Growth
4-6 weeksPlant develops multiple stems and bushy foliage; leaves are lance-shaped and deep green
Pinch back growing tips when 4-6 inches tall to encourage bushiness. Fertilize every 2 weeks with balanced fertilizer. Ensure 6+ hours of sunlight daily.
Budding & Early Flowering
2-3 weeksFirst flower spikes appear with developing buds at stem tips; plant becomes noticeably fuller
Maintain consistent moisture and light. Switch to fertilizer higher in phosphorus to encourage flowering. Remove any damaged leaves.
Full Flowering
8-12 weeks (or until frost)Abundant red and white bicolored tubular flowers covering the plant; continuous blooming if deadheaded
Deadhead spent flowers regularly to extend blooming. Water consistently. Fertilize every 2-3 weeks with flowering formula. Monitor for pests.
Late Season
Until first frostFlowering may slow in cool fall temperatures; plant remains ornamental with remaining blooms
Continue deadheading. Reduce fertilizing as growth slows. Bring containers indoors in frost-prone areas if overwintering desired.
Common Pests
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Spray with insecticidal soap or neem oil every 7-10 days. Yellow sticky traps. Improve air circulation.
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Mist foliage regularly to increase humidity. Spray with neem oil or miticide. Remove heavily infested leaves.
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Ensure good air circulation. Spray with sulfur or potassium bicarbonate fungicide. Avoid overhead watering.
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Spray with water to dislodge. Use insecticidal soap or neem oil. Attract beneficial insects like ladybugs.
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Hand-pick in early morning. Use copper tape barriers. Beer traps. Diatomaceous earth around plants.
Uses
Hummingbird & Pollinator Magnet
WildlifeHot Lips is highly attractive to hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies due to its tubular flowers and nectar production. The bicolored blooms and continuous flowering make it an excellent choice for pollinator gardens. [source]
Edible Flowers
CulinaryThe flowers are technically edible and can be used as a garnish for salads and cocktails, though they're grown primarily as ornamental. The flowers have a mild, slightly sweet flavor. [source]
Ornamental Landscaping
HouseholdHot Lips excels in garden borders, container plantings, hanging baskets, and mixed flower beds. The striking bicolored blooms provide dramatic color contrast and visual interest from mid-summer until frost. [source]
Cut Flowers & Arrangements
CraftThe long-lasting flower spikes are suitable for cutting and arranging in bouquets and floral displays. The flowers hold their color well in arrangements. [source]
Harvest Tips
This is an ornamental flower, not typically harvested for consumption. Deadhead spent blooms regularly by pinching off flower spikes just below the faded flowers to encourage continuous blooming throughout the season. Cut flowers can last 7-10 days in a vase with fresh water.
Fun Facts
- 🌱 Hot Lips is a cultivar specifically bred for the contrasting red and white 'lips' that resemble lipstick marks, making it one of the most visually distinctive salvias available to gardeners.
- 🌱 Salvia splendens is native to Brazil and is also known as 'Scarlet Sage,' though Hot Lips displays the signature red coloring with an elegant white center unique to this cultivar.
- 🌱 Hummingbirds can visit Hot Lips flowers dozens of times per day, and a single plant can support multiple birds due to its prolific nectar production and continuous blooming habit.
Gardening Terms
New to gardening? Learn about terms used in this guide:
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