The Furman’s Red Autumn Sage, otherwise known as the Salvia Greggii ‘Furman’S Red’ or Amistad’ Salvia, Friendship Sage, Salvia ‘Amistad’ PP23578, is a rather well known perennial plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and fast growth, this perennial will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Furman’s Red Autumn Sage Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Furman’s Red Autumn Sage can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Furman’s Red Autumn Sage grows best with watering each week. Increase the frequency of watering when it gets hot.
- Light: Keep your Salvia Greggii ‘Furman’S Red’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Furman’s Red Autumn Sage in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, chalk, and loam.
And as with many other plants, these are the only three care factors you need to remember to make sure your Furman’s Red Autumn Sage is, for the most part, healthy and well to survive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Furman’s Red Autumn Sage belongs to the Lamiaceae family, and the genus Salvia, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Salvia Greggii ‘Furman’S Red’ (SAL-via gregg-EYE).
As with other Salvia’s, the Furman’s Red Autumn Sage is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Furman’s Red Autumn Sage is a plant native to the South America.
You might be wondering why your Furman’s Red Autumn Sage’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Salvia Greggii ‘Furman’S Red’ will be most used to regions where the plant hardiness level falls between 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a, 10b, 10a.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Furman’s Red Autumn Sage is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Furman’s Red Autumn Sage actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Salvia Greggii ‘Furman’S Red’ can grow up to 3′ – 5′ (90cm – 150cm) in 3′ – 5′ (90cm – 150cm) and 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm) in 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm).
These dimensions make the Furman’s Red Autumn Sage a relatively large perennial compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 72″ (180cm) free so the Furman’s Red Autumn Sage can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Furman’s Red Autumn Sage is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Salvia Greggii ‘Furman’S Red’ grows best with watering each week. Increase the frequency of watering when it gets hot.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Furman’s Red Autumn Sage in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Furman’s Red Autumn Sage since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Furman’s Red Autumn Sage prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, chalk, and loam.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Furman’s Red Autumn Sage requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this perennial will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Salvia Greggii ‘Furman’S Red’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Furman’s Red Autumn Sage will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (early, mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Furman’s Red Autumn Sage to flower around the spring, summer and the fall months from April to June (spring), from July to September (summer), and from October to December (fall).
In particular, this perennial is well known for its flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Furman’s Red Autumn Sage produces some beautiful red, or purple/lavender flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Furman’s Red Autumn Sage have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite organization in its leaves.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Furman’s Red Autumn Sage is well known for being able to attract butterflies, birds and hummingbirds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for drought and animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Salvia Greggii ‘Furman’S Red’ will be fine.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Furman’s Red Autumn Sage will look best in it.
Most Salvia Greggii ‘Furman’S Red’ owners agree that this perennial will look great in most cottage and mediterranean gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of coastal garden, informal and cottage, city and courtyard, gravel and rock garden, and in mediterranean garden styles.
In particular, the Furman’s Red Autumn Sage’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, and in patio and containers, others use it for landscaping in a cutting garden, border, poolside, container, firescaping/fire wise, or a rock garden.
Companion Plants
Furman’s Red Autumn Sage’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Phlomis lanata, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Furman’s Red Autumn Sage, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
