Salvia 2015/2016

[Hans J]

Maggi - thank you 

I have asked there for a seed list - just received
  sorry but I cannot post it here ( too big )

To the Prices :
one Portion of seeds for 5 Euro
for shipping costs : 11 Euro
...I find this not cheap ...when I send seeds worldwide I ask for 4 Euro

[meanie]

I have  read about a new source for Salvia seed  ( and other plants, too) : www.salvias.com.ar

2016 INTERNATIONAL SALVIA SEED CATALOGUE
NOW AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
150 VARIETIES LISTED, MANY RARE AND EXCLUSIVE
WORLDWIDE SHIPPING
Contact us: salvias.com.ar@gmail.com

(Attachment Link)

Rolando Uria has a good pedigree in the Salvia world. Well known for his expertise he also the man who discovered Salvia "Amistad" and bought it to cultivation.

[Robert]

Salvia semiatrata blooming in our Sacramento, California garden. It blooms all winter - great for the hummingbirds! I appreciate the pebbled texture of the foliage of this species.

My wife and I have some other winter blooming species planned for the garden - mostly for the hummingbirds!

[meanie]

(Attachment Link)

Salvia semiatrata blooming in our Sacramento, California garden. It blooms all winter - great for the hummingbirds! I appreciate the pebbled texture of the foliage of this species.

My wife and I have some other winter blooming species planned for the garden - mostly for the hummingbirds!

That is lovely Robert!
Mine got badly frost burned whilst I was away as did S.lasiantha which was even closer to blooming.

[Robert]

meanie,

What misfortune! Hopefully your Salvias will recover.

Salvia semiatrata has been highly satisfactory at our Sacramento bungalow as well as S. chiapensis. By the way, did you have any success growing it (S. chiapensis) from seed? Our plants do set viable seed and I have grown a few on. I have to admit that I do not get much seed from the plants - they are all the same clone. Many Salvias set copious amounts of seed when selfed - clearly not S. chiapensis. Not in our garden anyway.

We are planning to add Salvia gesneriiflora to the garden - mostly for the winter bloom and food for the Anna's Hummingbirds. We have had good luck cutting back S. semiatrata every season. We still have a fabulous blooming season and can keep it in bounds. Hopefully the same protocol will work with S. gesneriiflora. It can get huge, at least around here.

I may regret it, but we plan to try S. madrensis too. The winter bloom is perfect, but it is such a large beast.

One more item on the Salvia front around here - I was gifted seed of the yellow, yellow-orange and lavender forms of Salvia spathacea (God bless you Ginny Hunt!). Germination was fantastic and we should see flowers next spring. For us, a prefect xeric species for the shade.

A number of annual species (some California natives) are coming on well, as are other types. I will post photograph as they develop.

[meanie]

meanie,

What misfortune! Hopefully your Salvias will recover.

They are already.
A new pane of glass broke in one of the greenhouses and the temperature dropped down to about -5°c. Cubanola and various succulents are deffo dead. Deppea splendens (it was in bud), Lantana, Tibouchina, Clianthus (both the red and white forms were in bud too), Solanum and Iochroma were cut down. They should survive but the Deppea was immediately moved to the bathroom where a new shoot has just emerged from the base of the plant.

By the way, did you have any success growing it (S. chiapensis) from seed? Our plants do set viable seed and I have grown a few on. I have to admit that I do not get much seed from the plants - they are all the same clone. Many Salvias set copious amounts of seed when selfed - clearly not S. chiapensis. Not in our garden anyway.

Yes and no. I had germination but for some reason (overwatering possibly) they died after a few weeks.

We are planning to add Salvia gesneriiflora to the garden - mostly for the winter bloom and food for the Anna's Hummingbirds. We have had good luck cutting back S. semiatrata every season. We still have a fabulous blooming season and can keep it in bounds. Hopefully the same protocol will work with S. gesneriiflora. It can get huge, at least around here.

S.gesneriiflora does not grow overly large in a pot here................


Mine was in the other greenhouse and should be in bloom in a few weeks.

I may regret it, but we plan to try S. madrensis too. The winter bloom is perfect, but it is such a large beast.

One more item on the Salvia front around here - I was gifted seed of the yellow, yellow-orange and lavender forms of Salvia spathacea (God bless you Ginny Hunt!). Germination was fantastic and we should see flowers next spring. For us, a prefect xeric species for the shade.

S. madrensis and S.spathacea are really nice Robert. I need to grow more of the yellow species.

[Robert]

meanie,

S.gesneriiflora does not grow overly large in a pot here................

This and many of your other comments and observations I find very useful.

I grow Salvia sinaloensis in a pot. It is survives the winter outdoors in the ground at our Sacramento home, however it has been difficult for us to have consistent flower production every years. Maybe too much root competition from neighboring trees and shrubs. In a pot it blooms well every year.

Your success with container culture has prompted me to consider some other "tender" species in pots. There are a number that I have grown in the past that I would not mind having again as container plants, S. melissodora and S. blepharophylla to name a few. 

[fermi de Sousa]

"Almost a salvia" and often sold as one, is Lepechinia salviae, which we re-acquired this year and it's doing extremely well in one of the new beds, with plenty of summer water,
cheers
fermi

[Robert]

Fermi,

Thank you for sharing the photographs.

Lepechinia is an interesting genus. We have 5 native species here in California. Our local species is L. calycina, a low elevation, xeric, chaparral plant with aromatic foliage. The whitish, bell-like, flowers are fairly large but do not stand out much. I like scented foliage so this encourages me to cultivate this species in our garden. Our other 4 Lepechinia species are native to Southern California and I have never experimented with them. I have grown L. hastata in the past. It is said to be native to Hawaii?    Somebody would need to check into this - to confirm. It seemed cold hardy enough in our garden, however it finally disappeared for reason I am uncertain about - most likely neglect but getting frozen out is a possibility too (this was a long time ago - this escapes my memory, maybe one of those senior moments    ). Anyway, I liked your photographs and it has kindled my interest in experimenting with some of our other California species. I might even try L. hastata again if I come across a plant. 

[fleurbleue]

I have just collected few seeds so if you want to try sowing...

[Robert]

I have just collected few seeds so if you want to try sowing...

Nicole,

I very much appreciate the seed offer.    An import permit is required to import seed into the U.S.A.  I do have an import permit, however it will be easier to find the seed or a plant locally. Lepechinia hastata is not common locally but it has been around for a long time. Most likely I will find a plant. Again, thank you very much. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.        

[fleurbleue]

Sorry Robert   Thank you

[meanie]

meanie,

This and many of your other comments and observations I find very useful.

I grow Salvia sinaloensis in a pot. It is survives the winter outdoors in the ground at our Sacramento home, however it has been difficult for us to have consistent flower production every years. Maybe too much root competition from neighboring trees and shrubs. In a pot it blooms well every year.

Your success with container culture has prompted me to consider some other "tender" species in pots. There are a number that I have grown in the past that I would not mind having again as container plants, S. melissodora and S. blepharophylla to name a few. 

Many of the tender and borderline hardy Salvia adapt very well to pot culture. They will be smaller and ultimately produce a lower number of blooms but on the whole few disappoint in a pot. Also, if the climate is not suited then we have no choice. I also find that lifting them in early to mid October and chucking them into a pot for winter causes most species and cultivars no great distress.

Lepechnia is a genus that I've come so close to success with only for the autumn to arrive. Any tips for growing them in a cooler climate?

[fleurbleue]

My Lepechinia is grown in a great pot I bring in a polytunnel during the winter ; it grows well and fast from seeds so I sow new plants regularly ; it is flowering in late summer so I can take all advantage of its flowers before first frost Do you wish some seeds Meanie ?

[Robert]

Many of the tender and borderline hardy Salvia adapt very well to pot culture. They will be smaller and ultimately produce a lower number of blooms but on the whole few disappoint in a pot. Also, if the climate is not suited then we have no choice. I also find that lifting them in early to mid October and chucking them into a pot for winter causes most species and cultivars no great distress.

meanie,

I have not had much luck lifting tender species in the autumn. I suspect that with our long growing season the plants grow too large to transplant well. An additional fact could be warm and dry weather can often occur in November and even December stressing the plants. At one time I planted tender species out in their containers hoping it would be make lifting them less stressful. This had its problems too.

I like your idea of lifting plants, however with our climatic conditions it can be risky. When I have a chance I will continue to experiment with some modifications that work under our conditions. Having some of the tender species in our El Dorado county garden would be sweet.