Ok, so I cheated and gave it a "frost cloth" jacket over the winter. But I knew so many would not be up and blooming yet, and I wanted the hummer's to have something to snack on...what I've never seen before on it is the White stamens....is that normal when they get big?
This image suggests that the corolla hood is shriveling on the affected flowers. Can you put the anthers from these flowers next to some from normal flowers and compare sizes?
Bumblebees can also cause this effect.
Rich,
I'll try to do that today. We've had hummers galore, but not much in the way of bumblebee's yet.
Beautiful MJ..you sent me cuttings..but had no luck rooting them.
I had Purple Majesty for 2 years. Both times, by the time the plants sent out their long shoots of blooms, 75% of their stalks broke off. It's the only Salvia besides Yvonne's (only grew to 18"...not 5' like they were supposed to) that I ever had issues with. It was very disheartning to go out to the garden and pick up the broken branches almost daily :(
susan,
Only time I've had that issue is if we have high winds. It's perennial here, so the stalks get pretty thick and sturdy. I do cut it back from time to time, ( which will be soon again) especially a 4-5 weeds or so before we get into rainy weather, causes it grows like gangbusters then too !
mjsponies,
I grow many salvias that reach heights of 5' or more (Praeclara was 7', Stan Dreamsicle almost 7', Black and Blue 5', Subrotunda 5' and Azurea 5'+)...but the Purple Majesty is the only salvia in our gardens that breaks its stalks with it's flower stems.
I just discovered this forum.I'll be back later
Well folks, I broke down and tried this salvia one more time. Would you believe that cut worms have broken 50% of the stalks...and the tallest ones to boot! AGH!
No other Salvia we grow has a cut worm issue. What's going on?
What is it about this Salvia that attracts cut worms and no other? It's also in the family of plants with B&B and Argentine Skies...it's just wierd why There seems to be only problems with Purple Majesty.
We grow B&B, Argentine Skies, Coral Numph, Stan Dreamsicle, Lady in Red, Black Cherry, Raspberry Delight, Hot Lips, Ultra Violet, Subrotunda, and Praeclara too.
Purple Majesty seems to be the only one that gives me grief :(
Susan, that is weird..............I've tried the Argentine Skies, twice, both times it just never thrived. I've got one more start out there in a pot in partial shade I was going to wait till fall to plant out. If it doesn't take this time I'm done with it.
Course this year may not be the best year to judge plants as it has been harsh both directions, both winter cold and not the summer from
" he**" ! Or on the flip side a good year to judge, cause if they get thru this summer, they gotta be tough !
Planted on March 12. Photos were taken today (April 28).
Carol
What a fantastic color
I recently ordered Royal Purple Autumn Sage....hope it's as lovely as this one.
I have problems with wind breaking stems on tall flower spikes too. A neighbor gave me about 2 dz. tomato cages ...use what I need on tomatoes and the rest I will start using for tall perennials next year. May not be the prettiest sight in the gardens but I'm tired of loosing my blooms.
You could also try going lighter on your watering--I have noticed my Salvias that are in the path of runoff from my neighbor's lawn sprinkler grow a lot taller & floppier than ones that aren't near the sprinklers and get watered very rarely. Also not sure if you're fertilizing them, but that can also make them grow taller & floppier.
One thing I learned to do with this one was to wack it back in June, then it bushes out...reblooms very quickly also and keeps the floopies in check.
I really need to get that one--really beautiful blooms:)
I understand that Salvia Amistad is showing up in California nurseries now..
