Hello All,
I used to be able to order this plant from a few online nurseries for several years...all of which now have either stopped selling it, have chosen not to sell online anymore or have folded entirely.
Over the past couple of years it has become more and more difficult to find many of the plants I have bought year after year...like the Mesa Salvias which are gone completely now (really miss the purple!) very disheartening and frustrating to say the least...spending countless hours searching and making phone calls.
Anyway, about Wendy's Wish Salvia:
I even called the wholesalers Monovia and Proven Winners who only added to my frustration since they are not allowed to tell me what stores/venders will distribute them here locally...or at least pass on info who will have it so I can call them to make arrangements to have the plants shipped...UGH! How silly is that...not telling a potential customer who wants to buy plants where to get them??? Seriously, it makes my head hurt...phooey!
The only place I can buy it online now is through Burpees. After reading the scoop at the Garden Watchdog, I am quite apprehensive to order plants from them.
I am hoping someone here can help lead the way to a place they may know of that will help...TIA :)
.
This message was edited Mar 26, 2014 12:11 PM
Having a hard time finding Wendy's Wish Salvia...
Have you tried Googling "salvia wendy's wish nursery"? It may not give a mail order source, but there seem to be a number of growers out there.in a number of states These places would get plugs from the primary propagator and grow them out for local nurseries, including big box stores.
They may drop them from their inventory if they can't sell enough of them.
Let me know which mail order nurseries have folded, or stopped carrying Salvias.
Hello Rich,
My FAVE nursery to order from that folded was Sweet Nectar Nursery. Why? GREAT plants, service, and had many plants I wanted I couldn't get anywhere else.
Another nursery I loved was Bustani Plant Farm. They are still open don't sell online anymore. If we lived within a few hundred miles, DH and I would gladly take the trek down to their nursery...but 2 states away is a bit much...sigh.
I don't order from an additional few nurseries I used to anymore since they may only have one plant I need instead of at least a few.
I like being able to get the plants I need for our gardens from 5 or less nurseries....not 10+. It just gets ridiculous.
Our two local nurseries do not cater to those who are hummingbird enthusiasts...plenty of butterfly plants though. Believe me, I have pleaded with them to widen their selection, but over several years, they won't budge. I remember when they pushed plants on me like Pineapple Sage...LOL. They told me the foliage is lovely (which it is), however, after growing it one year in our gardens, they wound up being huge bushes, with LOTS of that foliage and very few blooms. It's a great plant for landscaping, but not a big hummer attractor, that's for sure.
Anyway, I totally "get" that any given nursery can't have "all" the plants I want/need for our gardens. However, I am trying to avoid just getting one type of plant at a nursery unless I order a lot of them.
I have tried/tested growing quite a large number of various Salvias over the years and there are about 8-10 that work great in our gardens. All the others for various reasons just don't "work" for one reason or another and I can't use them for substitutions:
Examples of Salvias either I can't get or grow:
Oxyphora...love the plant, however it doesn't start blooming here til the the end of the Hummingbird migration here. That plant is fine for those that live in the south.
Again...really do miss the Mesa Salvias...growth/size/height and blooms were great...
I also miss the Black Cherry Salvia High Country Gardens had...grew for several years. It had the same growth pattern as Hot Lips (just a tad smaller but very close to the same size by the end of the season) with LOVELY deep red blooms! I have found nothing to compare to that one either.
Raspberry Delight just isn't nearly as good in growth or the # of blooms. Ultra Violet Salvia is too small.
There are several other Salvias and various other plants I've tried, but in our gardens, set up, location, etc, I have found a particular group of plants that just work best. So when my cheese is moved, I'm not happy...LOL
Other Salvias that work great for us:
Lady in Red, Coral Nymph, Black & Blue, Argentine Skies, Subrotunda, Hot Lips, Maraschino, Wendy's Wish.
So now I'm just scrambling to figure out what plants I will substitute where we have "holes" in our gardens for plants we can't get anymore...fun...not! :(
This message was edited Apr 5, 2014 2:59 PM
Susan,
I've been getting my Wendy's Wish from Flowers By The Sea for several years and am always happy with the plants from Kermit Carter (owner of FBTS).
http://www.fbts.com/wendys-wish-sage.html
This is the place I order the majority of Salvias I've been growing for several years.
If it's too late to order from FBTS this year, be sure to look at all the Salvias they offer next year. They have an extensive selection/collection of Salvias.
Sorry I didn't see your post til now.
Marilyn
He also has 'Black Cherry', I believe.
Yes, he does.