I bought this plant at the '07 Denver Botanic Gardens sale, mostly because my daughter picked it fo...Read Morer its fluffy velvet-textured leaves. Quite nice they are, we were petting it all Summer!
It bloomed late in '07 (in late Fall! It's flower stalk was broken by heavy snow), and then died down for the Winter. It re-emerged in early Spring, was not at all bothered by Spring snows, and flowered on time. It didn't die down for its 2nd Winter (2008/2009).
Very nice plant, both for the foliage and for the flowers. It can handle heat, drought, winds, and a fair amount of cold (-15 was the coldest temperature it survived through, so far).
Germination of this plant has some special requirements which are as follows:
From the 2nd edition of Norman C. Deno's bo...Read Moreok, Seed Germination Theory and Practice -
a) Sow seed at 70*F in light. Germination will occur about 11% in 3 - 14 days.
b) Seed sown at 70*F in dark had a 2% germination rate.
c) Seed sown at 40*F germinated at 4% in 4 - 8 weeks, and when moved to 70*F, germinated at 18% in 2 - 10 days.
d) 26% of seed germinated via Deno's "outdoor treatment." The outdoor treatment consists basically of putting a pot sown with seed outdoors in the fall for spring germination.
As illustrated above, Deno has determined that germination for Salvia cyanescens is best triggered by light and the oscillating temperatures that outdoor winter weather provides to the seed. His outdoor treatment has been refined by the method called "wintersowing". Members of DG's Wintersowing Forum are extremely helpful to anyone interested in trying this out.
Since S. cyanescens is said to be from Iran and Turkey, and to grow in limestone and shale banks, I would make up a very well-drained soil medium upon which to sow this seed, which could consist of 3 parts of: 1 part perlite (best) or sand (not too sharp) for drainage; 1 part milled sphagnum moss or peat for their anti-fungal qualities; and 1 part soilless potting medium.
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Follow-up
On 2/18/07, I wintersowed 25 seeds of Salvia cyanescens in a recycled qt-size yogurt container within a vented plastic baggy. About 1/8" gritty sand was on the surface, the seeds went on top of that, and then they were lightly covered with a sprinkle of more gritty sand. 7 seeds germinated, beginning 3/26/07.
Since Latin binomial names are being deleted from the winter sowing database, and since the common names being substituted can apply to so many different species, and since the genus Salvia is so diverse, I am entering this data here, which applies to only Salvia cyanescens.
(Updated: 02/27/2009.)
I bought this plant at the '07 Denver Botanic Gardens sale, mostly because my daughter picked it fo...Read More
Germination of this plant has some special requirements which are as follows:
From the 2nd edition of Norman C. Deno's bo...Read More