Its Latin specific epithet argentea means "silvery", referring to the colour of the leaves.

Both leaf surfaces are heavily covered with silky hairs that give it a wooly appearance.

The leaves are soft to the touch, first emerging as a distinctive silvery white and then turning to grey-green after flowering.

[2] Flowers appear in spring or summer on 60 to 90 cm (24 to 35 in) candelabra-like stalks that rise well above the foliage.

[2] Salvia argentea has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.