Plant in full to part sun (the more sun the better) and give regular to occasional deep irrigation - tolerates less but doesn't look nearly as nice. It is noted to be cold hardy to at least 20° F and we have heard from a gardener in Southwestern Texas who tells us it withstood 45 consecutive hours in the single digits (Fahrenheit) with a low of 1° F. This is a wonderful floriferous plant and we really love it but it is best cut back hard in the winter and even if this is done regularly, this plant will spread out in the garden so this should be expected.

Salvia darcyi comes from a small area in the eastern Sierra Madre Occidental. The name Salvia comes from the name used by Pliny for a plant in the genus and comes from the Latin word 'salvere' meaning "to save" in reference to the long-believed healing properties of several Sage species. This plant was originally discovered by Carl Schoenfeld and John Fairey of Yucca Do Nursery near Galena, Mexico, in 1988 and in 1991 they guided a British expedition that included British botanist James Compton to a site where it was found growing along a rocky limestone ravine at 9,000 feet in the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range. Though originally called Salvia oresbia, Compton officially described it in a 1994 issue of the journal of Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, naming it after Canadian born botanist William G. D'Arcy, who accompanied him on the collection trip and it is also commonly called Darcy's sage.

Noted Salviaphile Richard Dufressne said of this plant: "This is one of my favorite sages for growing in the Southeastern states. … For me it is pleasantly persistent and not invasive. It is a reliable summer bloomer, and forms spikes bearing some of the largest red flowers in the genus". Betsy Clebsch, author of The Book of Salvias is also fond of this sage and notes that "gardeners who are interested in color will find Salvia darcyi an unprecedented plant". We first got this plant from Mountain States Wholesale Nursery and have grown it since 2001. We have several large plantings of it in the nursery. 

The information displayed on this page about Salvia darcyi is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.