Deadhead this one?

I love salvias but don't have much luck with anything other than the salvia cochinea (sp?). That one comes up anywhere and everywhere there was a previous plant. I tried Black and Blue and it died. I bought this one (labeled Victoria Blue) last summer/fall and I'm amazed that it has actually flourished and bloomed. The blooms are nearly spent now and I wonder if I snap them off if the plant will bloom some more.

Note that I'm in Phoenix where the temps will shortly be in the 100's. Should I move it to shade? And if anyone here can recommend salvias that might thrive here in either sun or shade, I'd like to hear from you. I tried Hot Lips and Autumn Sage; HL died rapidly, AS more slowly, although a few of those seedlings came up. I would love to have a yard full of these plants - of any color or type.

Sounds like you need xeric sages like chamaedryoides, chionophylla, melissodora, keerli (for new world sages0 and argentea, sclarea, fruticosa,and other sages from the Mediterranean and South Africa (dentata, aurea, muirii, scabra)

That's a lot to look up, Rich, but thanks for the info. Now where do you all buy these different salvias that you never see in the nursery? BTW, should I deadhead the Victoria Blue? Will it bloom again?

There are mail order sources for them. You can usually find them by doing a Google search by using the genus name in quotes like "Salvia keerli", followed by the word nursery.

Deadheading will help, but I am not familiar with your conditions. Greg Starr (who owns a Tucson nursery) and Mountain State Nursery are investigating heat-tolerant sages. Visit Desert Botanical Garden for ideas as well.

Humus added to your soil will reduce heat stress, but you will need to add it more frequently because your soils are warmer. Stone mulches will help cool the soil.

Yes, I deadedhead my Victoria Blue and I already have more buds coming.

You can also use the Plant Scout feature here (under products & sources)--put Salvia in the search field and all the vendors in Plant Scout that have salvia will pop up (or if you're looking for a specific salvia, type in its full name, or look it up in Plant Files and you'll see a link there if there are any Plant Scout vendors who have it. Also, in Garden Watchdog there is probably a search category for Plants: Salvia so you can find additional vendors that way (not all the vendors in Watchdog are listed in Plant Scout)

Jo-in-TX, do you cut the stems off at the base? I think I should do this pretty soon.

Thanks for the info about how to get these plants. I think I'll need to learn a lot more about their care and what they'll tolerate before buying any unknowns. Rich, that's a good idea; the DBG is only a few miles away.

I have a pineapple sage that I potted but I quickly learned that it doesn't like the hot sun. I moved it to shade, but should I put it in the ground for a better chance of survival?

I just cut off the whole section of blooms. Is that what you mean? This is my first year to grow salvia - I suppose I should look into how to properly deadhead these flowers! :)

This is my first year and I have Coral Nymph, White Nymph, Victoria Blue, Mystic Spires, Indigo Spires, Hot Lips, Sensation Rose and Mexican Bush Sage (salvia leucantha).

I love all of them, but may get rid of the Indigo Spires since I understand that the Mystic Spires isn't too small, either, and they look just alike.

Jo

About the woody sages: don't cut greggiis, microphyllas, and reglas all the way back. They sprout out from the ends the same way that roses and bramble fruit (blackberries, raspberries) do.

Rich, I've been snapping off the long stems when the flowers die. They seem to do OK with that and usually bloom some more but they get very leggy. Would you cut those back further?

You can cut them back more, but in regard to where the active leaf nodes are. You are taking a risk to cut back further down where there has been no axillary growth for a while. Try some experiments, because your conditions are definitely different from mine.