I could just go outside, light it up, and then you gardeners would know I needed your advice and you would come to Tiny Cat Pants.
So, here’s the question. Could I get salvia apiana to grow in my perennial herb garden? It’s only hardy to zone 7 and we’re zone 6. But I was thinking of putting it right up against the house.
Or do you think we just get too much rain for it?
Tiny Cat Pants 
Honestly, our weather is so weird here, I wouldn’t discount anything. When I first moved here 20 something years ago I couldn’t get rosemary and lavender to grow (or winter over) — now, both flourish. Pick a sunny, well-drained place and good luck …
We are really just inside zone 7 here now, according to most gardening maps. So I wouldn’t worry about that part. OTOH, I think we have too much rain for it. But you could perhaps grow it in a large planter/pot, keep it out of the rain that way.
A gardener signal, though, would be awesome.
Well, that was my thought about putting it near the house, in a raised bed–to keep it as well drained as possible. The other question is whether I should order a plant and get it in the ground now or just try to get it up from seed. I had okay luck getting the cacti up from seed, so I’m feeling kind of cocky about my ability to get salvia apiana to sprout.
Beale, really? Wow, because my rosemary and lavender both are doing crazy well. Ha, I guess global warming is good for something.
I was able to grow Salvia Divinorium and Salvia Lamiaceae in a south-facing bed against the wall of my house for the first two years I lived here. The bed was south-facing but shielded from some of the direct sun by the shadow of the house.
The Lamiaceae did what I would consider a B+ effort; the Divinorium was more of a B-/C+ project. (In keeping with State Law I grew it solely for cultivation purposes and did not use it for the purposes of intoxication–a Class A Misdemeanor. Even though it is less harmful that a jigger of Jack.) I think the Divinorium didn’t like as much light. I plan to try again in the same spot, but surrounded by higher-growing plants for added shadow.
YMMV, as always.
ask my Mom. She has her Master Gardener cred.
Salvias are touchy here at best and you never know if they will keep going or not. I have several that are zoned for 7 that come back year after year, I have some that are zones 6 and 5 that died right off. The biggest key is drainage and you might be best off planting it in a pot with a cactus/succulent mix of soil and then moving the pot around and protecting it in the winter. Apiana will definitely want full sun.
What you definitely need to be growing is Salvia Leucantha-Mexican bush sage. It is a show stopper in my garden beds right now.
Do not trim back the dead stems of your salvias no matter what, if you want them to be perennial here. The cut hollow stem channels water down to the root crown and causes it to rot over winter and the salvia will not come back.