skip to main content

Need advice: Salvia Leucantha cutting

13 years ago

I happened to get my hands on a cutting of Salvia Leucantha today. I have been after this plant for two years now. Haven't seen it locally. I did find a source for mail order, but I'd like to try it from a cutting over winter and see if I can save myself the $40 minimum. :)

Has anyone ever done this one from a cutting? Any advice? I don't have a greenhouse, but I have a south-facing window where I have done rose cuttings.

I was thinking Root-tone, small pot, then cover with a soda bottle. Or do I remember reading that they don't like a high-humidity environment when rooting?

Help?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
13 years ago
They grow like a weed here and are available everywhere, but I have not tried starting one from a cutting, but it should be easy. I would use a cutting mix, I use 80% perlite to 20% peat,in a four inch nursery pot. I would use a weak hormone such as rootone. Tent the pot with plastic wrap held up with foot long sticks with the tent secured to the pot with a rubber band. Kept in regular household temperatures of around 70 degrees, out of any sunlight. Vent the pot by removing the tent every other day and inverting to remove excess moisture and avoid mold on the mix. I would expect about 30 days to root. Al
conniemcghee
Original Author
13 years ago
That sounds like a plan. Thanks Al!
Related Discussions
Mexican bush sage salvia leucantha hardy?
Q
Comments (10)
Another tidbit I failed to mention about Mexican sage in the northern reaches of its winter hardiness is to plant in early in teh growing season so that it can have as much time to establish itself beyond that container rootball before its first winter. This is particularly true with heavy clay soil since container peat media and mixtures thereof do not readily "mesh" with the compact, fine particles of clay in the planting hole as nicely as a loam or amended sand.
...See More
On taking cuttings and overwintering salvia, agastache
Q
Comments (13)
While I don't have a cold frame, several of my friends do, and I can attest to their value. Some of your plants may survive in the ground anyway, and that is something you won't know until spring. Salvia greggii "Wild Thing" seems to be a very durable plant, which is good, because it is one of my favorite greggii. Black & Blue has been here in the garden for about a decade. I had to try it in several different spots before I found a few where it would perennialize. Most years it gets fall leaves piled on top of the uncut stems (wait until the plants are truly dormant)and has returned in good health. This method might not work if you have heavy soil or a large vole population. For all I know the jury is still out of Zauschneria in the east. I have latifilia v. etteri growing and blooming although it is still very small. How has it done for you? Several friends report being able to keep another species of the genus alive but also report it did not flower.
...See More
Advice on Wendy's Wish (?) salvia
Q
Comments (22)
I for one have gotten away from watering from the top on large established plants in containers and there is always the fear of watering too much. So as much as I can I go with watering from the bottom, letting the plants draw up as much as it wants or needs. Too small a pot is not logical [spock] mine is in a 16" ID. At first I was using the roasting pan and had it sitting on two bricks but only two inches of the pot was sitting in water and it was using that up in a days time. So now I have in sitting in a cutout of a trash can and sitting on wood strips so its not sitting on the bottom and can draw up water easier.
...See More
Salvia leucantha -- how hardy?
Q
Comments (13)
Well, Christo Lloyd wrote in his own book on perennials that Salvia leucantha is "definitely tender", so there you have your answer. He also stated that it was the species of Salvia "for which I drool most heavily". He added that "it only gets going as the first frosts are about to nip it". That said, I have several Salvias in my garden that are still flowering now (or rather reblooming, having been assiduously dead-headed after their first flowering in early summer). They include the widely grown Salvia sylvestris "May Night" and "East Friesland", which I know are supposed to be hardy. I cannot say so from personal experience, as this is only my second summer in this garden (although they did survive a long, cold, dry winter as baby plants). In my old garden I kept Salvia verticillata "Purple Rain" coming back for the best part of a decade before I left. I am concerned about garden nerd's loss of Salvia uliginosa, as I bought some plants this summer which have been growing and flowering in a large pot, ready for planting out as soon as they finish. I guess I shall have to give them a good mulch. To judge from lori londonuk's post, we garden in fairly similar conditions (I am half way up a hill in suburban north London), so we should have similar degrees of success in bringing tender plants through the winter.
...See More
rusty_blackhaw
13 years ago
When I've grown this plant from cuttings no Rootone was needed.

Soft to more mature non-woody stems work well. As Al suggested, a soilless mix, kept moist but not soggy and covered by a plastic bag is fine.

I haven't been bothering to try to keep S. leucantha going over the winter by cuttings lately. When I want to grow it, it's available in the herb section of one of our local, well-stocked nurseries for $2.50 or so a pot.
conniemcghee
Original Author
13 years ago
I sure wouldn't bother either if I could find it for $2.50 a pot! Actually, I wouldn't bother if I could find it at all! I did see some very late in the year, but I've heard it could be iffy to plant it in the fall here. Plus, they wanted like $10 for it. I might have gambled for a lower price, but I thought that was a little expensive.

I know it's like a dime a dozen where it's common, but it just doesn't seem to have taken off here. I am really glad to know that it roots so easily! I tried last year and lost it, but this year I'll go with the soil-less mix and tenting and see if my luck is better. :) Thanks you guys!
dicot
13 years ago
I prefer 3% peroxide to a willow-based rooting aid, it's weaker at activating root growth, but aids in sterilizing the cutting and is much cheaper. I also like to make chamomile sun tea and use it occasionally to water the cuttings, as it has weak anti-fungal properties. S. leucantha is one of the easiest sages I've rooted, but you might need a heat mat if your windowsill gets cold during the winter.
conniemcghee
Original Author
13 years ago
OK, if you don't mind I thought of a couple more questions:

1) How long do I keep it out of sunlight? Until it roots?

2) Once it roots (say in 30 days or so), should I take off the plastic bag at that point? I think I took it off too early on my Echinacea cuttings this year. I got impatient/excited, and as soon as I took their tent off I promptly lost a few.

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES Tidy Up Sprawling Native Shrubs With These Pruning Tips

By Oakley Gardens

Sound horticultural pruning methods work for native and nonnative plants alike

GARDENING GUIDES Garden Myths to Debunk as You Dig This Fall and Rest Over Winter

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Termites hate wood mulch, don’t amend soil for trees, avoid gravel in planters — and more nuggets of garden wisdom

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Texas Ranger Explodes With Color

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

If purple is your passion, embrace Leucophyllum frutescens for its profusion of blooms and consider the unfussiness a bonus

GARDENING GUIDES 6 Plants That Beat Butterfly Bush for the Wildlife Draw

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

It's invasive, a nonnative and a poor insect magnet. Check out these better alternatives to butterfly bush in the garden

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Gaura Lindheimeri

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Delicate, butterfly-shaped flowers ‘float’ above the foliage of this lovely, drought-tolerant perennial

PRODUCT PICKS Guest Picks: 20 Gorgeous Perennials to Plant Now

By The Estate of Things

Take advantage of warm spring weather to create a colorful garden with blooming plants, succulents and ornamental grasses

GARDENING GUIDES Attract Hummingbirds and Bees With These Beautiful Summer Flowers

By Annie Thornton

Roll out a welcome mat for pollinators to keep your landscape in balance and thriving

REGIONAL GARDEN GUIDES California Gardener's March Checklist

Give natives and tropicals a well-deserved spotlight — plus, discover an easy herb that keeps on giving

GARDENING GUIDES Backyard Birds: Invite Entertaining Hummingbirds Into Your Garden

By Habitat Network

Hummingbirds — unique to the Americas — zip through open landscapes seasonally or year-round. Here’s how to attract them

GARDENING GUIDES 8 Flowers That Dazzle With Fall Color

By J. Peterson Garden Design

From flaming orange to supersaturated purple, these blooming beauties will set your fall garden ablaze with vivid hues

Sponsored

AAE Bathroom Remodeler

Franklin County's Custom Kitchen & Bath Designs for Everyday Living

More Discussions

Does anyone grow Candytuft?

19

Happy accidents

9

What is your favorite blueberry bush variety?

3

1000+ bulbs planted last fall

13

Beautiful mystery daylily at Walmart

8