First time blooming for me! I love the yellow blooms.
Kim
salvia madrensis
Wow, Kim!!! What's the hardiness for this beauty?? Yellow is my very favorite!
Bev
Plant Files lists it as 7a
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/586/
Thanks, ecrane! I know it's wrong to lust, but I think I am...And I see from following your link, that someone has it on their 'have' list! (Should've looked it up myself!!! Wow, what a long day!)
Bev
I grew this yellow salvia for the first time this year; it did not bloom until fall but was fabulous. After planting it in full sun (duh, it's a salvia) though, I read it likes partial shade! Atlhough it did great so now I don't know whether to move it next spring or not. It was 4' tall. Anyone tried it in shade?
I've had mine several years, but this year I had two in mostly shade and neither bloomed.
The ones I have in mostly sun have bloomed.
jameso
I've heard hardiness down to 20°F. I had it survive the winter once, but not the second winter.
Client buys it every few ears, never been hardy in 7b,even with planting it like I do the Mexican sage S. leucantha (sp) which almost always lives if you plant it in late Spring or early Summer with the crown raised and 1/2 sand for about a foot around and deep. did best in 3/4 sun, did fairly well in 1/2 haven't tried in full. Lovely thing
We will see if it makes it this winter. I dug up some babies prior to these cold nights and am keeping them in the greenhouse in case it doesn't survive.
Love the yellow.. Where did ya'll get your seeds from.. Please give a link if you bought online. Thanks.
Larkie
You might try Southwestern Native Seeds in Tucson
http://www.southwesternnativeseeds.com/
They used to go into Mexico, but restrictions and unfriendly environments probably have severely limited trips there. So no S. madrensis this year.
Some of these sages do not set much seed, and what seed is available falls out of the calyx soon after ripening. This means trips to the same flower spikes on a daily schedule for multiple weeks. The intensive work for small quantities of seed is one reason there is not a market for many varieties of Salvia seed. To keep the identities straight, it is better to get vegetatively propagated plants of sages, especially of those with many varieties. These are usually the same that cross easily.
In the UK, have tried to grow this for several years, only to get it frosted when in full bud in late October! Not at all hardy here, but over-wintered cuttings provide healthy plants for the next year.
This year we had a crazy (unpleasant) summer, with rain and overcast skies throughout June and July. This prevented some Salvias from flowering at all....e.g. S. striata and S. corrugata....HOWEVER...S. madrensis got confused into thinking that shorter daylight had arrived prematurely.....so I had a spectacular flowering plant for 2 months from mid-August! It was quite sensational! The same thing happened with the new S. amethystina subsp. ampelophylla....this never flowered before November in the last 2 years.
I have bunches of what I call it forsythia salvia. It's a late bloomer here in Ga. about Late October. Which the last hard freeze 20 degree knock it back. But she's a old faithful in my garden (full sun) for the pass 12 yrs or longer. I'll be glad to share forsythia this coming spring or when I start cleaning out my beds.
Just d-mail a request!
Donna