hi, i have salvia apiana 2009 from jl hudson and would be interested in trading for your asclepias californica. Does this sound ok?

I would like to make my own smudge sticks instead of buying them to save money. I heard these attract butterflies as well. thanks for looking, Tim wanted: Salvia apiana (white sage) Salvia divinorum haves to trade: Oriental Poppy Parsley (Moss Curled) Zanahoria corta (Short and Sweet Carrot) Venidium fastuosum (Zulu Prince Daisy) Squash (Yellow Summer Crookneck) Zinnia (mixed) Sunflower (Autumn Beauty) Radish (Sparkler) Portulaca (Moss Rose mixed) Aster (violet/blue mixed) Pepper (California Wonder) Morning Glory (Scarlett O'Hara)

I was wondering how you were doing with growing Salvia Apiana from seed? If you have any lessons learned or would like to share you experience that would be nice. I am looking at growing some from seed in the near future also. Thanks!

Rich Dufresne could probably give better advice. If I were in your situation, I'd be tempted to try planting them in a mound of sand/gravel/rock, maybe mixed with some compost. I'd have it in a sunny location. Winter rain, or lack thereof, isn't the issue. It's summer rain, humidity and steamy nights that do them in. Where these species grow naturally, summers are dry, and summer nights are mild or cool (i.e., sometimes you might want to wear a sweater). Except for S. spathacea, they'll probably take your winter temps. However, looking at an old climate summary, I see that Austin has had temps down to 15F, which is really pushing the envelope with S. clevelandii and S. spathacea. OTOH, S. apiana grows up to 5000 ft on Palomar Mtn, and they get regular winter snow up there and temps in the teens. S. spathacea grows in richer soils under live oaks -- or so I understand, as I haven't yet seen it in nature. It doesn't grow in my area. At Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (Claremont, CA), they have it growing in partial to nearly full shade (two large patches of it). One patch is under a native coast live oak (Q. agrifolia). My S. spathacea are in partial shade, but one of them gets too much sun when the sun is furthest north, and it gets scorched and doesn't recover until late fall. The good news is, you can easily divide it and try the pups in other locations. S. columbariae is an annual. It likes well-drained, gravelly soils and full sun -- you can't give it too much. Get seeds from Theodore Payne Foundation. In Calif., I'd sow it in the fall, Nov or Dec. Check the Las Pilitas website for info on all of these and suggestions for cultivars. Most S. clevelandii sold by nurseries are hybrids, though not always labeled as such. Cuttings get passed from nursery to nursery, but most growers have never seen it in nature, and they don't know what it really looks like. Of pure S. clevelandii, "Winnifred Gilman" is very popular. Hybrids like "Allen Chickering" and "Pozo Blue" grow much bigger, bloom earlier and longer, and *may* tolerate colder temps. Las Pilitas introduced "Pozo Blue," and theirs have endured temps to 10F at LP's Santa Margarita site (central Calif., inland from the coast).