Full to partial shade.

It is a drought tolerant perennial with showy spikes of red flowers beginning in late summer and fall. Zone 7. Deer tolerant too!

If pruned often, this could be a replacement for Salvia splendens or the red annual salvia. Salvia van houttei bears wine-red flowers on 3′ tall plants in late summer and fall. No matter how tall and wide it might get – a good five by five feet if not cut back every six weeks- these are jewels.  Well-amended soil and a good layer of top mulch.