Salvias

  • 232 Replies
  • 108297 Views

Umbrian

  • Hero Member
    • Email
Re: Salvias
« Reply #135 on: May 24, 2020, 07:42:36 AM »
Another Salvia bought last year- Cavaliero Celeste. A rather more soft lavender blue  shade than it appears in the photo - very attractive and this year very floriferous.
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.

*

Charithea

  • Hero Member
Re: Salvias
« Reply #136 on: May 24, 2020, 01:38:00 PM »
Looks very attractive Carole. I find I can not capture the colour blue easily.  They never come true on the photo.  I said that i would post some new Salvias that have flowered this year.  The white one is Salvia somalensis a very fast growing plant and very tough, the seedlings are this year's surviving plants that are doing well. They are Salvia amplexicaulis and the third is the surprise Salvia. I checked and rechecked and tried to match it with my seed labels and the salvia books. So if anybody knows please correct me. I narrowed it down to Salvia pratensis because of the way the branches divide and the colour of the flowers or Salvia forsskaolei as there is still a label with the name on it near it.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2020, 01:47:09 PM by Charithea »
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.

Umbrian

  • Hero Member
    • Email
Re: Salvias
« Reply #137 on: May 25, 2020, 05:59:05 AM »
The Salvia somalensis certainly looks a tough plant and although I love all the many different colours that Salvias provide, the softening touch of white is always welcome and helps to highlight nearby planting I feel.
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.

*

John J

  • Hero Member
Re: Salvias
« Reply #138 on: May 26, 2020, 06:48:51 AM »
I took this photo just now of Thea's Salvia 'Alan Chickering' doing its thing.
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)

Umbrian

  • Hero Member
    • Email
Re: Salvias
« Reply #139 on: May 26, 2020, 07:46:53 AM »
Love the habit and beautiful colour - one to look out for and a name that should stick!
Lovely close up of the flower John.
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.

*

Charithea

  • Hero Member
Re: Salvias
« Reply #140 on: May 26, 2020, 12:00:37 PM »
I have to apologise for saying that Salvia somalensis bears white flowers. They Look white in the brilliant sunshine but actually they are 'lavender-blue' according to the book.
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.

David Dickinson

  • Hero Member
    • Email
Re: Salvias
« Reply #141 on: May 27, 2020, 11:47:41 AM »
Hi Umbrian,

If you do get a Salvia 'Alan Chickering' or (one of?) the parent plant/s S clevelandii, do a lot of research on summer watering. I have managed to kill 3 in 3 consecutive years by giving them summer water in pots. This year I dug up my S. 'Anthony Parker', transferred that to a large pot and put S 'Alan Chickering' in its place. I will water it a little while it is still flowering. I have to say, though, it has never looked in need of water. It is next to an established oleander and myrtle so I only hope it gets roots down deep enough to compete with them over the summer.

If you have a choice between S 'Alan Chickering' and true S clevelandii I would go for the later. The perfume from the leaves filled the garden with the mot wonderful scent without needing to be rubbed. I could smell a small plant from several meters distance as I walked into the garden. S 'Alan Chickering' gives the same perfume but I find I have to run my hands over the leaves first.
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.

Umbrian

  • Hero Member
    • Email
Re: Salvias
« Reply #142 on: May 29, 2020, 07:21:27 AM »
Visit to a local Lavender Viviao yesterday where there is also a good selection of Salvias. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary but usually something to tempt. I bought one new to me that caught my eye but as nearly always is the case here no labels in individual pots and I can't  find the hurriedly written note I made so will delay posting photo until I know the name. Meanwhile two general views of the nursery.
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.

*

Charithea

  • Hero Member
Re: Salvias
« Reply #143 on: May 30, 2020, 01:07:08 PM »
Carole, I can not go into a Plant Nursery without buying something.  I find it annoying too that plants are not labeled.  I have labourisly collected this springs ' Salvia seeds but can not send them to the MGS seed bank  as I don't know their names.  The photographs on most sites don't show the whole plant or the shape of the leaves so it is difficult and inaccurate to settle on a name.   David is correct to say that Salvia clevelandii is more aromatic.  We have both.  The Salvia 'Allen Chickering get a lot more sun then the clevelandii.  Two of the clevelandii  are in poorer, better draining soil but get a lot of shade and they are sprawling.  The autumn arrival one is in sun most of the time.  I will wait until next year and see if I need to move the two. 
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.

David Dickinson

  • Hero Member
    • Email
Re: Salvias - Salvia 'Amante'
« Reply #144 on: July 18, 2020, 12:47:34 PM »
This plant looks promising. From a cutting about 5cm high I now have a thriving plant just coming up to a meter tall and it is still growing. There was one flower earlier in the season but now there are lots of flower spikes and the first flowers of those are emerging.  It is said to be a sister plant to S 'Amistad' but it doesn't seem to need anywhere near as much water. The plant size and proportions are very similar to S 'Amistad'. The flower looks smaller than it actually is in the photograph and it is slghtly redder too.
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.

*

Charithea

  • Hero Member
Re: Salvias
« Reply #145 on: July 19, 2020, 02:04:16 PM »
David this  Salvia is definitely a beauty. I wonder if Ioannis Gryllis has any of them. Our Salvia amistad are doing well. I have placed the pots in different places to see how they do. They appear to like some shade but  they can also take the direct sun as long as they are watered.
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.

David Dickinson

  • Hero Member
    • Email
Re: Salvias
« Reply #146 on: August 09, 2020, 10:51:22 PM »
I have mentioned the nursery "Flowers by the Sea" before as having an excellent collection of salvias. I had never noticed until today that they have a facility to help find the salvias which are suitable for a particular situation. https://www.fbts.com/tools/salvia_finder/salvia-finder.php

Just an update too on my Salvia 'Allen Chickering'. After placing it in the ground in spring, It has had no water at all for at least 2 months and it is still alive. No activity, of course, but alive. Fingers crossed.
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.

*

Charithea

  • Hero Member
Re: Salvias
« Reply #147 on: August 10, 2020, 03:17:40 PM »
Thank you David for the link. I have spent a lot of time going through the information on the Salvias I am interested in. I decided that Salvia Clevelandii 'Winnifred' would be a better choice then the 'Allen Chickering' for the boarder.  Also that we will have to move our Salvia clevelandii from their place if we want better results. The information and the good photographs helped me identify my 'not so sure' named Salvia. It sounds that it is a Salvia  forsskaoli. I will definitely experiment with the many seeds I collected this summer as it is such a 'beautiful' blue.  Finely our 'Allen Chickering' are taking the heat. Just like yours they are now resting.
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.

David Dickinson

  • Hero Member
    • Email
Re: Salvias - Slvia styphelus
« Reply #148 on: October 21, 2020, 09:40:14 AM »
I cannot claim this as my success, that goes to the nursery "L'Essenze di Lea" from whom I bought it last month http://leessenzedilea.com/.

It is half-hardy so I am hoping that, with a mild winter, it will still be with me next year. I have taken some cuttings but no sign of roots yet.

As usual, cheap cameras don't catch the beautiful intense blue but the photo is quite close to the real thing.
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.

*

Charithea

  • Hero Member
Re: Salvias
« Reply #149 on: October 21, 2020, 04:27:20 PM »
David  you are so lucky to be able to choose your Salvias from that nursery.  I have looked at the site many times and ordered some of them. The biggest success has been the Salvia 'Martinus burg' . One of them that is in the shade for most of the day is in full flower. The other three are suffering. I have better success from the Greek nurseries. Good luck with this beauty.
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.