i am harvesting some seeds, this is my first time with this plant thank you very much!! i got the seeds from you i believe :') mine are about a foot this year. at first i wasn't sure what the heck it was, all my markings got faded. but now, i'm soooooo happy!!! everyone wants those seeds!!! LOL i am happily getting them proper homes!! LOL ~Medo

Mine are about 4 feet tall and blooming prolifically! They are really pretty, so bright and colorful. I saw 2 hummingbirds fighting over the Yvonne's Salvia a couple days ago, just as they were fighting over the Lobelia cardinalis when that was in full bloom, so they must really like them.

I just collected a few seeds this morning from the first few seedheads that have dried up. I don't know how many seeds I'll end up getting, as they don't have too much more time to mature for the season.

{{gwi:366981}}

Mine got a really late start this year, and are only about 1-1½ feet tall, But they are beginning to bloom like mad. Last year, they bloomed well into October and I got a good bit of seed. This year, might not be so lucky; the few seeds that have started to form have been blown away - very windy up here. I've still got seeds from last year, though ...

PV

terrene: Those are beautuful! Last year mine kept going through the first few very light frost or two, so they might surprise you.

I'm still hoping for lots of seeds, but I don't think I'll have as many as last year. But I'm collecting them in a big Macy's shopping bag so it's possible I have more than I think.

Karen

I received seed from you last year Karen and the plants are growing very well. Not quite 4' but very full and lots of blooms. I've not had any complete flower stalks "go dry" yet, but I did see some dried flowers on the bottom of a stalk and the seed looked ripe (dark) so I harvested those. Is that right? I am afraid if I wait till the whole stem is faded and dry, the seeds will all blow away.

Nancy

yes, how do you all harvest the seeds without losing them? some of mine are gone when i get there. :'( which is ok in one way cuz i know there will be some plants there next year!! LOL but less to trade or give away!! LOL i do know next year, no dang angels trumpets next to them beauty's!! LOL
~Medo

I usually harvest a stem when most seeds look mature and black. If a few at the top are still white, I just break those off and discard. I do find that the plant usually holds on to the seeds pretty well, they don't drop as fast as some others, like coral nymph.

Now that fall is here, seeds seem to mature faster than the first early flowers.

Karen

Mine disappeared. I have no idea what happened to them.

That happens to my plants a lot, bakemom. But hearing those words from a pro make me feel better about it.

Karen

Oh honey, I am no pro, just very enthusiastic. The loss of the salvia vexes me b/c I was looking forward to them and they germinated just fine. Critters? Kids? Walkers? I have had it all.

Strike one.

i know, i go out ther and look and half of mine are gone, i looked down and couldn't tell, but i thought well, maybe the birds took off with them. at least they'd be making the area beautifull!! LOL i'm thinking next year of putting something down so i can catch them all. and then collect them later. maybe some of my tons of plastic i have!! LOL ~Medo

Bakemom: If we held a vote, you would indeed be deemed a pro.

Karen

Mine are doing well, they are blooming like crazy now. I'd take a pic but it's dark already (8:15) I'd say mine are between 2- 2 1/2 ft. Next year I'm going to plant them in a heap of my compost maybe they'll be nice and tall like Yvonnes were!

I didn't get mine planted until very late so they are short but in full bloom.

Mine are very short. Maybe 8 inches max- one has a bloom. THanks for the seeds Karen. I think I sowed all of them, so if anyone is willing to trade I would love to try again.
Thanks
Lisa

Mine got a real sssllllooowww start. They are about 3-4 feet. They got well over 5 feet last year in the same place in my garden. Flowering nicely, though.
Duane

I haven't had good luck wintersowing them for the last 2 years. Instead I had sown them directly, in purchased manure. Mine only got to about 3', but are blooming beautifully, just in time for the frost around the corner, LOL...

Mine didn't get as tall as I would have hoped but they were still beautiful. I would guess about 3.5 feet? I may trying planting them in a different location next year. One plant was affected by aphids a bit but only a few blooms were ugly. I don't spray much so she had to tough it out. I didn't keep any of those seeds, though.

I don't know what it is about my area but everything gets huge around here but the Yvonne's Salvia wasn't as tall as I expected. My husband complimented me on it, though, and he really only comments on plants he's impressed with. Flowers are flowers to him, yanno? lol

I do have a few seeds saved and may be able to offer some out on SASBE soon.

Here's mine! Not as full as some others but I tried. I don't know if they bloomed late because I was slow at getting them in or if they are indeed late bloomers. I will be saving seeds.

{{gwi:434816}}

I am so glad I saw this post because I am really enjoying my Yvonne's Salvia now. I got only ten seeds and they all germinated, but the plants stayed small soooo long. Then in August thy took off, are now all about 4 feet tall, and in full bloom. Must post a pic. At first I was disappointed with the first small blooms on the central stalks, but then I noticed all the shoots with flowers coming from the lower nodes, which grew to be about 10-12 inches long. And a pair of hummingbirds have come to them quite a few times. I guess it's just a late bloomer this far north. Thanks for the seeds Joe!! I hope I can collect some seeds for next year, and have some to share.

i went to my mom's today, and the salvia we got at the store for really cheap marked annual, and just "salvia" i noticed is the same as mine. yvonnes salvia. it has the same funny top when its starting. and the same 2nd red thing coming out. i thought that was funny!! and so neat!! but it's planted in the shade. we'll have to do something about that!! *grinn* ~Medo

I'm glad that many have had pretty good success with them. It definitely seems like a plant that does better when started early indoors, like Yvonne's and Emily's. Mine haven't come closed to rivaling those in the 2 years that I've grown them. Still, they are the prettiest annual salvias I've ever seen.

Karen

Here's a pic. of mine taken early this morning. I wanted to get in the blooms, which are 10 - 12 inches long. The entire plants are between 4 & 5 feet tall.

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Lovely pictures! Yvonne's is such a pretty plant and I never get tired of looking at it. It has been a real high point in the garden.

Medo - Salvia splendens is a popular annual and looks very similar to Yvonne's - comes in pink and white too. Yvonne's looks like a taller cultivar of Salvia splendens to me.

I made a bouquet the other day for an older lady in the neighborhood. Yvonne's makes a great cutting flower. This picture is a little dark and doesn't really convey the colors!

{{gwi:434819}}
Yvonne's Salvia, Physostegia virginiana (Obedient plant), Blue Wood Aster, Verbena bonariensis.

Mine did pretty good for having these for the first time - about 3 feet high. The hummingbirds loved the flowers. They are now re-blooming again after the first burst but I was glad to hear from the pro bakemom that she didn't know what happened to the seed. 'Cause I'm having a hard time finding the seed too. The brown shells left are empty for me. What is the trick to saving the seed - what's the signs that the seed is ripe? Any advice is welcome. I think I still have some seed left (I got mine from Emily) but I wanted to start learning how to save the seed from year to year.

Karen , I am sorry to report that my Yvonne salvia did
not make it, I winter sowed them , all the pics on here are
just beautiful, I will try starting them in the house this
spring. I planted all my seeds, but prob can get more some day. I did find one pkg of "Bonfire" at the ACE
hardware store, this past week, all the box store and
more have stored theirs away. :( One pkg was all
they had. Not very many seed to a pkg. One of the plants
that I winter sowed that I really like is the cosmos.
First for me and they are still blooming great. Happy
gardening , caroline

Salvia 'Bonfire' is very nice. I have planted it for several years but wasn't able to collect seed last year. Will be looking for seed this spring.

Are any southern gardeners growing Yvonne's? It's beautiful and salvias in general do well here.

If you are growing it in the southern US, does it do better started indoors for you as well?

from what i understand yvonnes salvia is a salvia that a woman named yvonne grew the salvia to be very large. she traded the salvia to another lady and that lady named them yvonne?? whne the lady had gotten older and couldn't trade anymore. something like that. but i don't remember the exact "brand" if she even named it. so it may be the same brand for that matter.it would be nice to have cuzins to the yvonnes salvia. i am getting seeds from the lady who traded with yvonne in the first place, she keeps all the letters that people send her. so the kids and i are going to write her. we have a soft spot for the elderly.
i had forgotten that i got yvonnes from karen last year. LOL ummmm.... i call it beauty forget. LOL forget the beauty"s that you got!! Hee Hee. LOL ~Medo

I started a new thread, with pictures, about harvesting the seeds.

Karen