Mexican sage (Salvia mexicana)

Mexican Bush Sage
Salvia leucantha
http://plantsdatabase.com/go/1837/index.html

Erin,
I love this sage and have it too. Do you have any problem with it flopping over from its own weight? I can't keep mine erect, and if I stake it upright, it doesn't look natural. Do you cut yours back every year? Thanks!

Hi, yes it does kind of grow in all directions, but I love a big messy garden! This is my first year with this plant, so I haven't had to cut it back, but another database user advised me to cut it back in the spring and again in midsummer to promote fullness. I'm going to try this. I LOVE THIS PLANT!!!

Thanks, Erin. It is beautiful. Here's mine:

Clare, yours is the variety "midnight" - with the purple tips instead of white. I have both.

I know this plant, though, as salvia leucantha rather than salvia mexicana.

One of my all-time favorites!

:o) Judith

In fact ... here's a close up of the white-tipped variety ...

... and this is the close up of the purple-tipped (midnight) variety ...

:o) Judith

Thanks, Judith, for sharing your lovely pictures and for identifying mine. I love the white tips! So, have I misidentified mine as Salvia Mexicana when it should be Salvia Leucantha or is that a synonym? I'll have to do some research! Thanks:-)

Both Salvia leucanthemum and S. mexicana are commonly known as "Mexican Sage" (or "Mexican Bush Sage"), but they're not synonyms as far as I know. We may need to do some sorting out of both entries in the PDB:
S. leucantha: http://plantsdatabase.com/go/1837/Mexican+Bush+Sage_Salvia_leucantha.html
S. mexicana: http://plantsdatabase.com/go/2350/Mexican+sage_Salvia_mexicana.html

Here's a good resource I've found for helping sort out Salvias: http://www.cabrillo.cc.ca.us/divisions/becho/hort/salvias/html/sale.html
(but beware the alpha links don't EXACTLY line up with the species, so you might have to do some poking to find the correct page(s) ;o) There's also a photo gallery link at the top of the site...

This is Salvia leucantha NOT Salvia leucanthemum

we really need to invite Richard Dufresne here...
maybe send him an invite and offer him 1 year free membership.

drew

Terry, after doing some research, it appears that my Salvia is not Salvia Mexicana but rather Salvia leucantha "Midnight" as Judith said above. Are you able to move my two pictures, or should I email the Plants Database? Thanks!

I can do it from here - thanks for offering, though ;o)

am I talking to myself?
:P

Thanks, Terry. Appreciate it:-)

No, Drew -

I'm listening. I id'ed the plants as salvia leucantha ... and I suspect you'd have to communicate with Dave directly if you wanted to invite someone and offer them free membership for a year.

The plants database is a terrific resource and has as an appreciated and utilized feature the ability for members to add photos and information. As with anything else, that has its liabilities too.

But as far as I know, we're all (all at Dave's Garden, all on the planet) learning ... so ... I think that's just part of the process.

Or maybe I've been in CA too long.

:o) Judith

Now ... tell me about salvia leucanthemum ...

The plants have been moved to their rightful homes. Ummmm, one teeensy correction to my nomenclature above: I think it's S. leucantha (why did I make it more tongue-twisting than it already is????)

LOL, Terry. I knew what you meant! You had it right later in the same post next to your links:-)

Dang - and I thought you were on to something, Terry - like a salvia-daisy sort of thing.

Thanks. :o)

This is a fabulous salvia. I'm also very fond of S. Clevelandii ... aka Fragrant Sage.

:o) Judith

Sorry Drew; I just now saw your correction, well after the fact. My only defense (and it's a weak one) is that I've been dealing with researching new species and off-beat epithets nonstop for almost a week now, and many of these are diminutives and other variations on the more common ones. I guess my fingers got away from me when I started typing my response.

And I sent you an email (via DG) regarding Mr. Dufresne - did you get it?

Judith, who knows? Somebody may well come up with a Salvia-meets-Daisy (of course, it might be a Montague and Capulet kind of clash between the Lamiaceae and Asteraceae families...*grin*)

while i'm on the subject, in the PDB listing of Davallia trichomanoides, George4tax's photo is of Humata tyermanii...
you can tell by the white rhizomes and large cut fronds.

drew

Your best bet for reporting errors is to go to the PDB entry where the incorrect information is located. Find the "report an error" link in the upper right-hand corner and click on it. Tell us what the problem is and the message will log a link back to the page we need to review.

When images are in question, it's usually a good idea to start with the accompanying thread (like this one) and get the submitter in the loop right away, and sometimes the question or concern can be eliminated without the editors having to move anything :o)

Y'all do a great job, Terry - it's a huge job I can't really imagine all the details of.

:o) Judith

Awww, thanks. But actually a lot of the errors are caught by the members, and that helps us tremendously - there's no way that three editors (Baa, PoppySue and I) could review everything in a database of this size; even if we could, there's no way we would always be 100% correct :o)

Whatever mine is called I don't believe it is hardy for my Zone 5 garden but I really like it ..... any advice on what to do to save some for next year.... should I dig the plant up and repot it and keep in under lights in the basement...?

VS, this plant gets pretty big and can have a sizeable root system, I think. I would just take cuttings and root them in jars of water for next year.

I will give that a try........ just cut off a stem and put it in water ....?



Thanks

Yes, cut off a six to twelve inch piece of stem, remove the lower leaves, pinch off any flower stalk, and root in two or three inches of water. You can add a drop or two of Superthrive to the water if you have it. I'm doing this now as well. They root pretty quickly in water.

Thanks..... I'll fix some up right away ....... and hope for the best....

Terry and Deep Roots: This is an old thread, but in case anyone else comes upon it - leucanthemum is shasta daisy (I stumbled upon it, so no kudos to me).

You're absolutely correct - in fact, we have several Shasta daisies in PlantFiles here: http://davesgarden.com/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=Leucanthemum&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=x+superbum&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search