Salvias

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John J

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #120 on: April 24, 2020, 02:44:23 PM »
Time for one of my personal favourite salvias to put in an appearance, Salvia africana-lutea.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

David Dickinson

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #121 on: April 25, 2020, 02:00:31 AM »
Hi Charithea

Does Salvia leucantha flower for you at this time of year? For me it is always an autumn flowerer. I hope it turns out to be S leucantha 'Midnight' for you :-)
I have a small garden in Rome, Italy. Some open soil, some concrete, some paved. Temperatures in winter occasionally down to 0°C. Summer temperatures up to 40°C in the shade. There are never watering restrictions but, of course, there is little natural water for much of June, July and August.

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Charithea

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #122 on: April 25, 2020, 12:47:04 PM »
Hi David. Our Salvias in general flower twice a year but they are most  floriferous in the Spring especially if we had a 'good' winter. The last two winters were good so most plants have grown too much. We have been pruning all this week to reduce their volume. My Salvia is Salvia leucantha Midnight. \It is approximately 6 months old. It was a rooted cutting and it is beginning to spread. I am also happy to report that my Salvia Costa Rican Blue cutting has shot up and it is putting out flower heads. The original had to be cut down to the ground as it suffered some form of infestation. However, it is slowly coming back but I don't expect it to produce flowers this year. I have also taken photos of the Salvia Allen Chickering.  they are growing side ways so I pruned one of them like the video said but left the others for the autumn.
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.

David Dickinson

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #123 on: April 25, 2020, 03:09:09 PM »
Lucky you Charithea! I will have to wait until Late October to see even the buds of Savia leucantha (species and 'Midnight'). Happy for you that it did turn out to be 'Midnight' in the end. I will have to content myself with Salvia lyrata, S indica (thanks to you  :)), S 'Hot Lips', Melen', 'Clotted Cream', 'Royal Bumble' and what I think is Salvia x jamensis 'Violette de Loire' which are all flowering for me now and be patient with the others. I have attached a photo of 'Clotted Cream' and 'Violette de Loire'. No prizes for guessing which is which!

S guaranatica 'Cost Rican Blue' is just about to come into flower. I say "come into flower" in the sense that these will be the first spring flowers. I have had one or two flowers for most of the winter. I would be surprised if both your original and your cutting don't flower at some point in the year. Cuttings I gave my sisters in the North of England last year flowered in their first year. Must ask if they have survived the winter there.
I have a small garden in Rome, Italy. Some open soil, some concrete, some paved. Temperatures in winter occasionally down to 0°C. Summer temperatures up to 40°C in the shade. There are never watering restrictions but, of course, there is little natural water for much of June, July and August.

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Charithea

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #124 on: April 25, 2020, 03:59:51 PM »
The Salvias you posted are lovely. My Salvia lyrata , thank you for giving it to me,  is also flowering. It is a rather delicate salvia and I planted it under the bitter orange tree next to a Salvia blepharophylla. They will have to be moved as the Salvia Anthony Parker is growing rather large and it is overshadowing them. I was given a Salvia taraxacifolia by Fleur last spring and that also has delicate leaves. I will have to make some changes. Decisions...and where will I put my new seedling that Chantal was kind enough to post me  the seeds just before the lock down.
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.

David Dickinson

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #125 on: April 26, 2020, 11:19:39 AM »
Re. my last post. Knowing how sensitive plants can be at times, I hope I haven't offend my Salvia discolor and S pinnata by omitting them from the list of currently flowering salvias I gave.
I think Umbrian's comment re S pinnata will win the day. When she saw it in my garden she wasn't too impressed and said it looked "weedy". I like the shape of the foliage and was hoping it would bush up a little this second year. Unfortunately, no. It will be relegated to some distant corner where, perhaps, I can plant some of its own seedlings with it to form an intertwining clump, thus giving a sense of fullness.
I have a small garden in Rome, Italy. Some open soil, some concrete, some paved. Temperatures in winter occasionally down to 0°C. Summer temperatures up to 40°C in the shade. There are never watering restrictions but, of course, there is little natural water for much of June, July and August.

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Fermi

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #126 on: April 26, 2020, 02:53:08 PM »
Salvia 'Hot Lips' has recovered from a hard "trim" a few months ago.
The bush displays a variety of forms from pure red to pure white and some are the "white with red lips" for which it is named
cheers
fermi
Mr F de Sousa, Central Victoria, Australia
member of AGS, SRGC, NARGS
working as a physio to support my gardening habit!

Umbrian

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #127 on: April 27, 2020, 06:26:23 AM »
After a mild winter and very warm early spring many of my  woody shrub Salvias started into new growth very early this year and continued to do so after their usual prune down to two strong leaves plus thinning as necessary to keep the plants compact and a pleasing overall shape. With continuing warmer than usual weather they have grown very fast and after some welcome rain last week have gone rather mad producing a lot of quite floppy young growth. I am wondering if I should do some more cutting  back at this point but am reluctant because flower buds are already well advanced in some cases. Any advice would be welcome.......
MGS member living and gardening in Umbria, Italy for past 19 years. Recently moved from my original house and now planning and planting a new small garden.

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Charithea

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #128 on: April 27, 2020, 03:51:52 PM »
Salvia Hot Lips is our young grand daughter 's favourite salvia.  All our Salvias have gone mad too. They have spread all over the place but I am leaving them alone until the autumn.  Hopefully things will improve and our grand daughter will  be able to come and see them.
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.

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Charithea

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #129 on: May 09, 2020, 02:11:09 PM »
My Salvia Costa Rican Blue cutting has opened up enough for me to photograph it. It is next to the Salvia Royal Bumble. The original plant that came from David Dickinson has now started to grow a bit faster. Thank you David for the original. I have been given three Salvia Amistad cuttings in pots by my gardening neighbour yesterday.   Mine died after flowering for a long time last year.  I did my usual insurance by giving cuttings of the original plant to friends and now I have been repaid.  The Salvia taraxacifolia has also flowered but it is so small and delicate looking that my Ipad photo does not do it justice.  Thank you Fleur for bringing it to me from Athens.
« Last Edit: May 09, 2020, 02:16:35 PM by Charithea »
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.

Umbrian

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #130 on: May 10, 2020, 07:37:30 AM »
I bought a S taraxacifolia last year and was very pleased with it. It has bulked up nicely and flowering stems are lengthening every day although none in flower yet. I love the foliage too though so it is a very welcome addition. I collected seed.... but somehow seem to have mislaid it......must have another search through all my little envelopes....
MGS member living and gardening in Umbria, Italy for past 19 years. Recently moved from my original house and now planning and planting a new small garden.

Umbrian

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #131 on: May 14, 2020, 06:29:36 AM »
Here is my S taraxacifolia just coming into flower. A really lovely compact
, smaller Salvia I think.
MGS member living and gardening in Umbria, Italy for past 19 years. Recently moved from my original house and now planning and planting a new small garden.

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Charithea

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #132 on: May 14, 2020, 10:10:49 AM »
It is a lovely Salvia Carole. Ours is very small but full of flowers. It was just a tiny plant when it arrived from Athens and I was surprised that  it survived.
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.

Umbrian

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #133 on: May 20, 2020, 06:42:45 AM »
I think this is Salvia ' Dancing Dolls' - another rather fanciful name . It was a new acquisition last year and settled well, coming into flower early after a mild winter and looking good mingling with the nearby Nepeta.
MGS member living and gardening in Umbria, Italy for past 19 years. Recently moved from my original house and now planning and planting a new small garden.

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Charithea

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Re: Salvias
« Reply #134 on: May 20, 2020, 04:02:38 PM »
It is a tough Salvia. I put some broken bits of it in the ground and they took easily and even flowered.  I had a pleasant  surprise last week when an unexpected salvia was flowering. I did not expect it to be so beautiful and according to my seed list it should be Salvia przewalskiibut I am still waiting for identification. Another robust Salvia is Salvia somalensis I got it from a Yiannis Grylis and it has grown enormous. Has palest blue flowers almost white.  Broken cuttings (cats running through them) took easily.  I will post photo after it has been resized.
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.