I have the following salvia's ( Autumn Sage, Salvia greggi; May Night Sage, Salvia x sylvestris; Mexican Bush Sage, Salvia leucantha; Blue Anise Sage, Brazilian Sage 'Black and Blue; Indigo Spires, Salvia, indigo spires) and have tried to pick the whole bloom when it fades and place it in a paper bag for drying, but have had no luck in getting seeds. Can anyone advise on this? I'd really appreciate any help.
Thanks,
Judy
Collecting Salvia seeds
You're pulling things off too soon--it takes the seeds a little while to form after the bloom is finished.
Judy,
Indigo Spires is a non-seeding sterile hybrid, so don't bother looking for seeds. Good luck with the others!
Robin.
Thanks guys for the info.
Ecrane, do I need to wait till the blooms dry most of the way before removing them?
Judy
You should leave the blooms on, they'll fall off on their own eventually. I haven't seen seeds on any of my salvias except for S. greggii, but with it the flower falls off eventually and where the flower was you'll eventually see a little brown pod, that's where the seeds are.
One of these posts from Gerris had a photo (problem is I've looked for it and can't find it now (maybe Joseph knows or can post it again), and I noticed at the time that it shows 3 unripened seeds, and commented that it was a good photo for those who have trouble locating the seeds. I wait until the what? calyx? (help me here, those of you who know the correct terminology) starts to turn dry and papery and the seeds are then ripe, You don't want to wait so long that they fall out, but you do want then ripe...brownish or black.
sunny if you MUST have indigo spires ....i finally have gotten some rooted and can share my 3rd try method....i tryed everything to root these and they were hard for me.....phew; i am trying to get them rooted and grown enuf so i can plant them outside b4 winter....
sns,
Thank you, but I was just gonna try to collect some seeds so I could swap them with others. How did you get cuttings rooted? Do you use root hormone powder? That's what I usually use. I haven't tried cuttings of any of the salvia's yet. I might try that next spring.
Thanks,
Judy
judy...i had the hardest time getting salvias to root; i was able to successfully root 500 coleus last year....but do you think i could root one salvia...NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO; i did happen to break down and buy rooting powder but even then i was only able to get one out of 4 to root.....; arrrrrrggggghhh;
SO, i was getting pretty dang desparate, and said if this doesn't work then i give up.....altho, i hate to say it i would have tried the bubbler thing....but i would have hated to do that method;
anyway, this time i took cuttings....rooting hormoned them; THEN, put them in plastic baggies.....which created a greenhouse type effect....and OMG....i got roots after 3 days....(not that i keep yanking stuff out of the soil)....but that i can see roots coming out the bottom of the stems above the soil....it is amazing!!!! everyday, i get my baggie and look ....and the roots are growing longer to finally touch
the soil!!!! whoo hooo!!!! you would think i won the lottery!!!!
good luck to you....maybe you have a greener thumb than i do(grin)
I've been collecting off the annual Lady in Red and the flower has fallen off and the husk left behind (calyx?) is tan in color. I don't get them all but I've managed to get some and there are alot more flower spikes blooming so I imagine I'll have a few more chances. Usually the whole spike is ready at the same time so I just clip it, bring it in the house and work over a paper plate.
Thank you all for your repies and advice. I will keep on trying I guess. Maybe I'll try to root soem. Want to try to root some cuttings off my Black and Blue. Just love that one. I've had luck rooting lots of stuff (hydrangeas, rose of sharon, butterfly bush, fire bush (firecracker), mock orange, morning glory, etc), but haven't taken the time to try the salvias yet. Guess it's time to start. I always use root hormone to root my cuttings, except for azaelias. I use the methods of laying a branch on the ground and weighing it down till it roots. Haven't had luck with rooting cuttings on them.
Judy