Here's a photo of S. mexicana x S. gesneriiflora that came up in my Vista garden.....
Salvia Raspberry Truffle that I had
Forgot to ad that I named this hybrid Raspberry Truffle. Sherry my best guess is labeling error on my nursery's part.....gotto love employees! I had quite a few dumb ones for a while there.
Well, of course...... I see now that mine isn't even mexicana. But this Paul is getting quite a bit of sun and doing fine in a spot where I wouldn't have planted it. More vigorous than the Pauls I have in the shade...gonna go back out in the a.m. and take a closer look to compare. Now I'm going to have a hard time finding Raspberry Truffle......
I found a perfect new spot for 'partial shade'....BUT..it means I have to tear out a huge old r. Cecile Brunner, clear out a LOT of wild grown lantana, do some railroad terracing to get down the slope...all for the salvias. I'm definitely getting too old for this....
Did you mean finding in your garden???? Look for the poorly formed mexicana-esque like plant...chances are it has lots of broken branches that may have re-rooted. If it wasn't for the incredible flowers on this plant, I would have dropped it from production in my nursery. I actually got it to look good and bloom in the nursery container through vigorous and regular pruning....a little staking didn't hurt either. Growth regulators couldn't hurt either!
While I had it, Raspberry Truffle showed a tendency to have floppy branches. It was not as erect as mexicana forms. There was some shattering on attempted moving of the plant. I always thought the foliage was more like gesneraeflora.
And I agree about the flowers.
Does anyone have the plant these days?
I have friends in San Diego that are sending me cuttings, so it is still around and it looks like I will have again soon here in Hawaii.
No, Andy..I meant that I found a new planting site on my property with partial shade, but I really have to do a lot of work to make it usable. I have to keep looking at different areas in new ways to make more microclimates. I'm not looking at suitable plants for various areas, I'm looking for suitable sites for various plants....a collector, not a 'scaper.
Oh I know the feeling! I have a pile of plants waiting for suitable sites. I don't have alot of shade yet ...I have planted stuff to create some canopy. Nice thing about where I live is that stuff grows like crazy. I planted some Rainbow Gums from 1g 4 months ago....They are already 12' tall.
That being said, I have alot of Salvias waiting for home that have gotten so big they are now in 5g containers...if I have to wait too long, they are going into 15gs...that to me is insanity...I must stop shopping/collecting!
I hear that! I told myself that I'd bring nothing more home until things are under control here....
Now, ya'll know you can't stop bringing back all those plants that 'need' a new home.. lol
Ahhhh, at least I'm not alone....I've got stuff out that needs a home too...and here many need some mid-day shade in the summer, I seem to have lots of shade, or no shade spots left....and have been working on creating spaces too...which just adds to the work...and/or task of potting up...good thing I do a lot of composting, cause the cost of potting material would be outrageous.