Most of my salvias performed similarly to previous years. One that did not is 'hot lips'. For some reason, 'hot lips' performs differently every year. Three to four years ago it was meh, then two years ago it was awesome, several feet wide and absolutely loaded with blooms even into early November(very late for Iowa), then last year it was only ok, and this year it was lousy.
I grew three new salvias this year... windwalker royal red, ember's wish, and miniata. I was impressed with windwalker's vigor and bloom power. It has its issues(needs significant support due to floppiness), but it really stands out when it full bloom. Ember's Wish performed as expected, just like Wendy's Wish, which I've grown for years. Miniata performed decently. The orange-red blooms really glow. It doesn't bloom heavily, but good enough to keep growing it. It did become quite large(5 ft tall) by the end of the season, and it is pretty fragile and needs support.
