Here are mine...
Top 5
Black Cherry
Hot Lips
Praeclara
Black & Blue
Purple 'Mesa' (a new variety last year...great preformer)
Others I will continue to grow every year...
Coral Nymph
Lady in Red
Stan Dreamsicle
Subrotunda
Rose 'Mesa'
Big Red (penstemonoides)
Will not grow these again!...and why...
Purple Majesty...80% of the bloom stalks broke before the blooms opened...very disheartening.
Yvonne's...did not grow as expected...height only reached 15-18"
Ultra Violet...awesome colored blooms...but they were tiny, so unless you were right on top of them, they couldn't be appreciated from a distance. The growth was only to 12"...not the 18-20"+...and the Hummingbirds wouldn't bother checking them out...
Azurea...too much trouble...(staking and keeping in check) for the length of time these bloom (just September...and only about 3 full weeks total). Another Salvia the Hummingbirds weren't attracted too all that much
2 varieties I'll give one more chance...
Salvia pachyphylla 'Blue Flame' ...I "babied" 2 of these last year...covering them before each severe T-storm. One storm came through and I wasn't home. Even without hail and severe winds, both of these plants died by the next morning. If the same happens again, and they are that delicate, I won't be bothered...too much trouble for the $$$.
Salvia leucantha...the variety with the white blooms. I planted one in a huge pot last year. It grew beautifully at 1st, but the leaves started turning yellow and falling off before it bloomed...even with a 50-50 mix of compost and soil. I know this becomes a huge bush, but for zone 5, and this being a zone 7 Salvia, it's not worth having to dig a hole in our yard for it. Too bad it wasn't a hardier plant...even a zone 6 I would try protecting it and making a space for it.
A few I'm going to try this year...
Forgot the name of one...it's 'Black and Blue' but with green calyxes...will need to do some searching. I don't know if it's the 'Van Remsen' or the 'Argentine Skies'...or even something else.
Salvia Greggii 'Teresa'...Lovely in pics I've seen...hoping it's not delicate. Most greggiis are hardy though...
Salvia 'Eveline'...Gotta try this one...hardy to zone 5!!!!!
Hope my list helps others :)
This message was edited Jan 10, 2010 6:09 PM
This message was edited Jan 10, 2010 6:13 PM
Share your opinions of Salvias you've grown...
You might want to try the west Texas form of Salvia reptans and Salvia greggii x Plum Wine, both of which are zone 5 hardy.
S. Pachyphyla is difficult to grow even if being cultivated within it's native range. I was shown photos of a large patch of this Salvia growing about 15 miles from my previous residence in Southern Ca. Anyway, I tried and killed it 5 times before I finally gave up on it. I think it's a shame alot of catalogue nurseries are dupping people into buying such a difficult to grow species!
Hello Rich and Andy,
Rich,
Thanks...I'll add those to my list...but I was unable to find a vendor for the 'Plum Wine'...LMK :)
Rich,
Thanks for the "head's up"...took it off my list! :)
"Raspberry Royale' is a nearly genetically identical clone to `Plum Wine'. Both are my introductions from the early 80s. It is time for me to see if `RR' is as hardy as `PW' I'll be bringing some up to western Massachusetts with me for testing in a friend's yard this Memorial Day. I also should get S. microphyllas `Wild Watermelon' and `San Carlos Festival' tested next to them.
hot lips is still green after 2 weeks with below freezing temps. unusual for our zone.
hope all my other salvias survive... or reseed.
I love black & blue salvia. It comes back dependably year after year and the hummingbirds love it. I also love apricot sunrise agastache. The scent is lovely and it appears to be a selfcleaning plant; the blooms keep coming until the first frost (without deadheading). Both are drought tolerant and only require trimming when they die back in the winter.
I grew coral nymph last year and liked it but the gal told me they wouldn't sell any this year but then I spotted it after my plant fund was depleted. I couldn't find any seeds locally and my "seed fund" is empty. The one I had a very nice pink and the hummingbirds loved it!
I grew Pineapple sage last year and bought some more this year. I love adding it to our iced teas but mine never flowered :-/
I found Tangerine Sage this year and I notice a subtle difference in scent. I like the smaller leaves too. My hummingbirds sure like the red flowers!
There are a couple more like the Pineapple and Tangerine that I want, but I can't find them locally. They are on my want list with specialty mints (I can't even find apple mint!)
For other Salvia's, I've been browsing the salvia section. There are a lot that appeal to me!
The purple Salvia I have growing in my gardens is a monster. It's completely invasive, it reseeds itself like a mad thing. I routinely weed out bushel baskets of it. Friends now duck when they see me coming as I've given away tons of seedlings.
I'm in 5a with a really bad wind problem. My soil is amended heavy clay and I have a drip irrigation system which is run two times every week for one hour. I'll try and find out what the name of these monsters are. The bees go nuts for whichever Salvia this is. During the height of it's blooms the entire plant will be covered with bees. They're so busy working the plant that they pay no attention to us or the dogs.
I'd be happy to mail seeds to anyone that might be interested. I do warn you that this plant is very, very invasive!
Can you post a picture? From the description it sounds like it might be something like Agastache foeniculum rather than a salvia. I don't see bees on my salvias very often but they LOVE that Agastache and it is known for reseeding rather prolifically. Russian sage (Perovskia) is another one that bees love and I think has a reputation for spreading (although I haven't observed it to reseed at all in my garden)
Sounds like an Agastache foeniculum, A. rugosa, or a hybrid of the two to me. Is the flower head like a dense even, cylindrical bottle brush? If the spike is dense and interrupted, it might be a fertile form of S. nemerosa, or one of its relatives. These are reputed to be good bee plants.
I am growing one S. lasiantha, two S. oxyphora, one S. lineata, one S. curviflora, and three S. stolonifera that are all doing well. I will have to wait until it cools to see the blooms, though. The lineata and curviflora are forming flower heads, but the flowers abort while still tiny buds. These should do well as annuals in cooler climates. Stolonifera might well be zone 7 hardy, likely to be zone 8 hardy.
It's interesting others get so reseeding from Agastache...none of mine do...and I wouldn't mind if they did a little !
I don't have them reseed for me either (although I mostly grow A. rupestris hybrids--never tried A. foeniculum). A. foeniculum is the one I've heard of reseeding a lot, but how much it does probably depends on climate.
Here's the plants name: Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’. It's used a lot here as it's extremely drought resistant and the deer avoid it. Winner of the 2000 Outstanding New Perennial Award by the International Hardy Plant Union. Hardy to the point of being invasive!
How strange! Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna' is immensely popular in the UK, and was displayed in some of the 2010 Chelsea Flower Show gardens. I have had this lovely plant for 3 years, and have not found it to be at all invasive. I did collect seeds, but none germinated. Regular dead-heading will result in 2nd or 3rd flushes of flowers.
The climate of the Front Range of Colorado is very hospitable to Salvias from the Eurasian alpine and steppe areas. This might allow for better seed set and germination.
I'd advise anyone who likes Salvias to visit the Denver Botanical Gardens, especially in late spring.
I'm not much good....I like them all, except for the nasty little things they sell in the big box stores as annuals that they con people into thinking they can take full sun in Florida. It tick's me off that they sell them, and then folks spend good money on something that's not going to last.There are so many wonderful Salvia's that do well, Perennial's that will come back, and the Butterflie's and Hummer's love . Added Pleasure.
I AGREE, and they sell all those tropicals up here where they don't have a chance to survive. Poor plants.
Susan, are any of your top 5 hardy here? I have one Black and blue blooming this year. In the past, it has not been hardy for me.
Have you found a good local source for Black Cherry?
Lincolnitess,
Very few are hardy here for us in zone 5...some for zone 6 and and the majority are zone 7 and higher.
Salvia Azurea might make it through our winters, however, I personally don't care for that one. There is also the Salvia May night which the nurseries here in our city have oodles of locally. I can't be bothered with that one since the hummingbirds ignore it...waste of space in our garden in my opinion.
Here's a link for you to look at...look under the heading "Cold Weather Salvias":
http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/salviaarticle.htm
I grow ours either from seeds or buy from nurseries each year...like the Black Cherry from High Country Gardens.
This message was edited Jan 29, 2011 3:51 PM