Salvia patens 'Pink Ice'

London, United Kingdom

Here is a new form of Salvia patens, pale pink flowers. Until now there have been several forms, the true species, (sometimes named Royal Blue....can't see any difference, perhaps a selling gimmick.), 'Cambridge Blue'...gorgeous sky-blue form, 'Chilcombe'....known as 'Lavender Lady' in the USA, and 'White Trophy', which, would you believe is white....but not a very "clean white!". Then there is the very tall 'Guanajuato', with huge deep blue flowers, and blotched foliage. Another form, from Holland, is even more floriferous, equally giant-sized, foliage is plain green. Another giant form with flowers the same as 'Chilcombe' was found in New Zealand, now known as 'Guanajuato Lavender' , but this seems, from seed, to revert to the smaller 'Chilcombe' or 'Lavender Lady'. Forgotten the original name of this, the word 'Pacific' was included.

This pink form is certainly very nice, I first saw this in California, a chance seedling, I believe, now it has been found in New Zealand, from where I received seeds, and they have all come true. May not be a world-beater.........but a very pleasant introduction.

Robin.

Thumbnail by 2salvia
Fallbrook, CA(Zone 10b)

Thanks for posting the photo, Robin. I wanted to but still haven't done the learning the camera-posting thing. I picked up Pink Ice and Lavender Ice at the Cabrillo sale. I especially love the Pink, those pale pinks are so frou-frou! I can hardly wait for the Danielle's Dream to be available. I'm particulary happy to hear that the seeds come true.
Sherry

Very nice plant, really robust compared to the 2nd year plant I am trying to keep alive. Hey what is that red red flowering plant in the background, Robin?

Joseph

London, United Kingdom

Joseph,

It seems more robust than the normal blue, lavender, or white forms. There is another new one here called "Dot's Delight" which is blue and white. Mine has not flowered yet.

The red plant at the back is Valeriana officinalis, or Red-Spur Valerian. Very common wild-flower in Europe, often found growing on walls. Seeds all over the place, and can be a nuisance, but I would not be without it! Just have to dead-head it frequently.

Robin.

London, United Kingdom

Obviously had a brain-storm, the red plant behind the pink S. patens is Centranthus Ruber, and not Valeriana officinalis! One of our most common wild-flowers, and I could not even get that right!

Robin.

It's a great plant, Robin...bet it gets hordes of butterflies.

Lincoln, NE(Zone 5b)

Hello Robin, Thanks for posting the pic of the 'pink ice' Salvia patens. By your pic, it looks like it grows like Salvia penstemonoides. I had tried growing the Salvia penstemonoides a few years ago and was disappointed in it's growth/rate/pattern...rather sparse compared to several other Salvias we grow.
I sowed some 'pink ice' seeds a couple of weeks ago and have just potted 12 seedlings. Amazingly, I sowed 12 and all germinated. Additionally, they are all growing uniformly too...no oddballs in the bunch...so far I'm quite amazed. No other seeds I have sowed for our gardens have ever had 100% germination without any bad seedlings...there had always been a few for one reason or another that I would have to remove.
I just wish there was more info about this plant. I am undecided where to plant them this year because of not knowing it's growth habit, height, etc compared to other Salvias we'll have in the gardens...such as Lady in Red, Coral Nymph, Black & Blue, Stan Dreamsicle (Coral Nymph on steroids...lol), Subrotunda, Argentine Skies, Wendy's Wish, Hot Lips, and Maraschino Cherry. I have planted other Salvias over the years, but these seem to do best in our gardens/area.

Salvias I was disappointed in have been Salvia penstemonoides, Purple Majesty (for us, even staked, the stalks kept breaking...very odd), Jean's Purple Passion (never bloomed for us), and a few lovely ones just put their blooms on so late in the growing season that the Hummingbirds have already migrated through without being able to enjoy them, or they just don't do well in our area...like Salvia pachyphylla, which I believe does better in more shady, protected areas. We tried that one for 3 years and just no luck.

Anyway, if you could give any advice on which Salvias the 'pink ice' would work with in our gardens, it would be greatly appreciated! TIA :)

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
BACK TO TOP