I googled this for you Sheila - says its reliably hardy in the south but is cut back by frosts. Should sprout again. Hope it does, it looks gorgeous!

Wow, that's very kind of you Steragram - thank you! Well in that case, I will leave the 'stump' alone (I did cut it back in the autumn, which may not have helped). It was from a local nurseryman who gave a talk on Salvias last summer, so if all else fails I could always buy another. It got rather enormous though . . .

Good luck with that then!

Thank you :))