Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Both Salvia occidentalis and Salvia coccinea grow in the wild in Hawaii. S. occidentalis is native to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and introduced to the lower 48 states and Hawaii. S. coccinea is native to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the lower 48 but introduced to Hawaii. You can see a location map for the islands of Hawaii for S. coccinea and one also for S. occidentalis from Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk (HEAR). Pacific Islands Ecosystems at Risk (PIER) lists both S. coccinea and S. occidentales as invasive weeds in Hawaii. We can't tell you exactly where on the various islands these occur, but perhaps you could contact someone at the HEAR or PIER for information about where you might find them. Indeed, these two organizations, plus the Native Hawaiian Plant Society may have programs to rid the Islands of invasive plants and your help in ridding them of these two species would probably be welcomed.

Information about the growing conditions for Salvia coccinea (blood sage) can be found in our Native Plants Database. Since S. occidentalis is not native to the North American continent, we don't have any information about its growing conditions. Obviously, both will grow in the climate of most of the Hawaiian Islands.