Salvia libanensis is related to Salvia regla, which does do well in North Carolina.
Here is an image of the Jame, Coahuila form at the J C Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, NC. It is good from September to first frost in late October or November. If you have a cool summer, it will bloom sooner. There is a form from the Huntington Botanical Garden that starts blooming three to four weeks earlier than Jame.
