Indigo spires.

2-26-09

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Sept. 08

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NOID blue. 3-15-2010

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I also have a pinky lavender one I got at last Fall's plant swap.
a couple red Salvia coccinea
One that has yet to bloom
and I bought a couple pale lavender off the 50% off table at Lowe's.

I need to get some of the black and blue. I had forgotten how pretty it is.

No honestly, I don't grow lots of Salvia because I really hate the kinds that are perennial here like MAY NIGHT. I don't usuallly buy the common red bedding annual either because there are annuals I like much better.

Everything I truely like is annual for us as it doesn't overwinter. I buy Indigo Spires new each spring mail order. I would love it if it stayed but I know better. Plantmaven yours is stunning :-)

I love Black and Blue, but its an annual plant for a pot around here. I tried Hot Lips and that died over winter too. I love the small flowered red ones too, can't rember the names. Had them years ago but died over the winters.

Kay, I love your Salvia bed with the Black and Blue Salvia.

I love salvias, because there are some that will grow in my zone! Almost anything that will grow in my zone is appreciated. LOL

I have the May Night and the red annual from Lowe's and I love them. I also have some salvia from Fred Meyer...I think it's the May Night too. I just got the red this year, to put in front of the bird bath, in the kitchen garden. I'll take pictures, once I finish that bed...it's really pretty :)

Oh, I also have regular sage and purple sage. Aren't they a type of salvia, too?

I just grow May Night. It was one of my first garden purchases; and has 'anchored' my fence line for about five years now. If you cut it back; it just keeps re-blooming. If you like blue; and want it for a longer time than you get with delphinium; then salvia is a good plant.

I realized I don't have much for photos of it - this is the best I could find. It features 'Sam' coming out to talk.

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Love all your pics guys!

-LL, the culinary sort of sage is Salvia officinalis. Mine has been perennial (dies out only when it gets old). It is super easy to take cuttings of too so maybe you could keep some going inside over winter?

I have to agree that some of the more unusual salvias seem to be the ones not hardy here. Or maybe it is just that I always seem to want the things I cannot have, LOL.

I grow:
S. argentea- has HUGE fuzzy silver leaves like Lamb's Ears. I just love the plant.

S. lyrata 'Purple Volcano'- died out over winter. Not a big loss since it was one of the ugliest plants I have ever seen, lol.

S. nemorosa 'Caradonna'- like this one much better that 'May Night'. It is slower growing, but prettier even when not in bloom since the stems and bracts are a dark purple. Also like how upright the flower spikes are.

S. 'May Night'- not a favorite, but grows well.

My favorite could be S. pratensis 'Pink Delight'. Lovely large flowers and easy to grow. Reseeds but I don't find it invasive. Got a blue colored 'Twilight Seranade' last year too.

Also have one that I think is S. verticillata 'Purple Rain', but don't know for certain. Kind of a flopper...

Started S. azurea var. grandiflora from seed over the winter and it looks like it is doing pretty good.
Then I got some Salvia splendens 'Vista Lavender' a few weeks ago since I loved it paired with pink Nepeta and Stokesia last year. Also got a fantastic annual one (don't know species) called 'Sizzler Mix' that had a beautiful coral color. Hummingbirds already found it!!

That's all folks ;-)
CMK

Sam! I love Sam. I had an orange cat named Sam.
I don't care for most sages. I do use Golden Sage all over. It's culinary sage but green and chartreuse. Very bright, well-behaved plant. That Black and Blue is very pretty. I have never seen it here, though.
Renee

I picked up something named meadow sage at the farm stand up the road 5 years ago and planted it in my butterfly bed. It has been 100% reliably & dependably coming up every year since, a completely no-fuss perennial that shows up, forms a tidy mound, blooms for a long time and needs absolutely zero help from me. I winter sowed lots of seeds I got in trade and am hopeful they'll prove as reliable as the one I have.

I only have May Night, but it comes up sure and strong with no fuss. I love it!

My Cardonna is in beautiful bloom right now. It stands tall
even after 2 ferocious thunder storms during last night. I
divided an old clump of salvia verticillata "purple rain"
yesterday, woody roots which I expect appreciated the rain.

I also have what I think is two clumps of May Night and on the wild hill a clump of meadow sage which I usually forget about until it blooms. One plant of s.argentea has survived.

I am hoping to return bog sage, Salvia uliginosa, to my garden. It is not fully hardy here. It is lovely in the
fall with Japanese anemone. I also have been unable to find
purple annual salvia plants this year.

This conversation is inspiring me to look for a few more
salvias to introduce into the garden.

Lots here ... it's a big hummer magnet.

Salvia guaranitica 'Argentine Skies'
Salvia elegans 'Pineapple Sage'
Salvia leucantha 'Mexican Bush Sage'
Salvia greggii 'Wild Thing'
Salvia coccinea 'Bicolor'

I would like more salvias that have upright growth. Some of mine bloom only in the spring.
I have Wild Watermelon, San Marcos, the dwarf mexican bush sage, cherry greggi, hot lips greggi, black and blue, then one that is similar but supposed to be purple (it's blue), pineapple and melon sages.
I want argentine skys and the lime leaved variety too at some point.
I also have a red salvia which I thought was a type of coccinea but it is not. I've forgotten the name again but it gets a very late start and then blooms bright red blooms until fall. Self seeding, I love it and wish I had more of it.
Plantmaven, the Indigo Spires blooms all summer for you and is drought tolerant? This might be what someone had in the neighborhood that I really liked (they did not know the name of it).

Honnat- Sam is great...such a handsome boy and loves to talk. I have a gray and white kitty like that.

CMK- There are one green sage and three purple sages in my garden! I bought another purple one this spring, because I didn't think mine made it through the winter...and now I have four sages! (LOL) I moved most of my herbs into the fairy garden...a few mints, lavender, the sage and a few other culinary herbs. Better protection from the wind and the kids love them...herbs seem pretty magical :)

I am not Kathy, but I have Indigo Spires and plant it each spring for years, It gows quickly and as soon as it starts blooming it never stops until a hard freeze. Wonderful color all year long. I don't do a thing to it once it starts growing.

I grow a lot of salvias because the deer and rabbits leave them alone! And, the hummingbirds LOVE the nectar!

salvia greggii in many colors (purple, white, burgundy, bright red, hot pink)
Salvia farinacea 'Victoria' is a tender perennial that does well for me and blooms, blooms, blooms in dark purple-blue.
salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna' is a favorite and it seeds true to the parent. It is above knee-high, then I have the smaller 'Marcus' and 'Rose Sensation' that also seed out.
salvia 'May Night' puts on a great 1st performance, then has to be cut back for a smaller show of rebloom.

Cameron

Here is a link that might be useful: Salvia 'Caradonna' is Grape, but Not Seedless

I took these pictures today of my Black and Blue Salvia:
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And Hot Lips:

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You can see a bit of the red Navajo on the other side. Never fertilize or water these...I have got to pull some of the Band B out at the end. The hummingbirds and butterflies adore it, especially the Black and Blue.

I have several others named here as well. I like the really reliable perennials.

Most of the plants here are perennials planted last year and I think I have five different kinds of salvia here including two that aren't blooming yet.

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kay

Geez, those first two pictures kay, just wow. Remember last year we both had Hot Lips Salvia? Mine was the bloom machine from the day I brought it home until a hard freeze. Well, there is yours looking huge and mine is dead, gone over the winter. Love that first shot of the Black and Blue.

Rita, I told you I'd send you a clump if you want it.
kay

-LL, so great that it overwintered for you!!

-Kay, your blue hydrangea is drool worthy...
CMK

Thanks christimk...it is an Endless Summer, and, as you can see, my ground is acidic. This one will bloom prettier much all summer, but the blooms won't be as thick as they are right now. It hasn't been tended to much at all although it does get some water in drought situations...I don't think I have ever actually fertilized it at all.

kay

I can buy a new one this weekend, its easy to get. I was just complaining because the salvias that I just seem to love turn out to be annuals for me here. There are lots of perennial Salvias (like May Night) but they don't do much for me. Last year I also had Blue Fountain, which I always knew was annual here.

I wish I could overwinter the gregiis but have had no luck so far. My mom, however, who lives an hour away and probably almost a full zone warmer, has some s. greggii "Flame" (that I planted for her) and it looks great year after year.

I got some Wild Thing this year and planted it in a small berm to keep it dryer over the winter. Hopefully that will do the trick for me.

I have a May Night, which is an ok plant, and I wintersowed some S. transilvanica (what was I thinking?), and s. azurea.

I'm not much of an annuals person, but I might try Yvonnes salvia next year because I've heard so much about it.

I love these pics! These are some really pretty gardens! My salvia isn't as exciting as the ones here. I've pretty much stuck with what's tried and true for me. Some year I'll get obsessed with salvia and get adventurous. This year my obsession is hydrangea.

10 years ago, I bought a package of seeds simply titled "Salvia." I have no idea what kind it is, and it only blooms for about 1-2 weeks with no rebloom. I've often wanted to get rid of it and replace with something longer blooming, but the years it does flower (which isn't consistant), the color takes my breath away.

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And of course, there's the tried and true May Night. I know it's not exciting, but it works consistantly for me. These were tiny Bluestone plants in their 2nd year. I dashed out and bought several more on Walmart, and they've never done as well as these guys.

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Since that 2nd year, they've gotten so massive, that I have to prop them up with plastic fencing.

Lady in Red - my favored
Red, white and blue - enjoy your Memorial Day weekend

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I was going to post a new thread about buying some Salvias today but found this thread which is perfect.

I had Hot Lips in 2010 but it had died by 2011. Also the same for Black and Blue. I never did find either one locally last year so I just didn't have them last summer. But this year, actually today, I mail ordered them from Santa Rosa Gardens. I got 2 Hot Lips, 2 Black and Blue and one Wild Thing. Never had Wild Thing before but wanted to try it. They are shipping on Monday so I will have them by the end of next week.

I also want to order INDIGO SPIRES, which is my favorite Salvia at High Country Gardens but they were out. That is why I went looking at Santa Rosa Gardens to see if they might have it. They didn't but had those others.

I had Wild Thing, but it died. Salvia stalwarts for me are the guaraniticas (Black & Blue and Argentina Skies), Mexican Bush sage, and Pineapple sage. Have all of them growing in a few locations.

Winter was so mild this year that the pineapple sage bloomed continuously.

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I love that pinapple sage especially with the blue in the backround.

Unfortunaly for me all the Salvias I am crazy about turn out to be annual here. So I buy some each year. Some years more than others but I always have some salvia in my garden.

Wish I could share with you. I just thinned another patch last week. It almost grows too well down here.

I agree with Natal. I had to cut back, pull up and haul out two wheelbarrows loaded tas high as I could get them to make a dent in the salvia. Ans that was after the so called winter we had.
kay

At least I will have some nice ones this year with those I just ordered. Then if High Country Gardens gets its act together maybe I can still order some Indigo Spires.

I have may night, caradona, a pink sage (can't recall the name), a corkscrew type sage as well.

I still grow a lot of salvia greggii. These sages are great performers for me and are in full bloom right now.

Cameron

Here is a link that might be useful: salvia greggii

My favorite garden is the Lurie Gardens of Chicago where my favorite garden designer, Piet Oudolf utilized drifts of different salvias to create his idea of a meadow. Take a look.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lurie gardens

My High Country Garden Catalog came today so I was looking thyru it. Looking mainly at the Salvias. They really have lots of truely lovely Salvias there. I am looking at a lovely red one called MARASCHINO, another reddish one called RASPBERRY DELIGHT and a lovely purple called ULTRA VIOLET. Of course I would still love to have INDIGO SPIRES.

I love Salvias, but they don't love me for the most part. I have
clay soil that is not that heavy but they still prefer a light well drained
soil. I did prepare a section of one bed with a layer of gravel on a slight
slope and found some salvia did fairly well there. BUT, as others have
said, my favorites are those that are not hardy here. I have tried a few
a number of times and they never winter over. 'Ultra Violet' and 'Black
and Blue' did not perform well for me and did not return after their first
winter.

I do have Salvia 'Wild Thing' too, but this is only it's second year and
I will have to see how it does.

I have had 'Rose Queen' for years, and last year I had moved it to more
sun and it surprised me how much I enjoyed it. I plan on dividing it for
more this year.

I grow 'Purple Rain' and it is a very long bloomer and reliable to come
back every year.

Love Piet Oudolf, he is my favorite designer too. I'm in love with meadows.
The Lurie Gardens in Chicago ... have only enjoyed photos, haven't gotten
there yet.

I am definitely planting some Black and Blue this year after seeing the photos above!

Good convo and pics, thanks for sharing all.

Nicole

I got my order from Santa Rosa Gardens today. Great packing job and lovely plants. I will remember them for ordering again next year. I do love salvias but the ones I like are annual around here so each year I am always buying new ones. I will be planting them all this afternoon.

I still want to order some from High Country Gardens.

Here are my salvia plants after I got them all planted. I put them in containers around the back door area where I will see them all the time.

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Black And Blue

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Hot Lips

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Wild Thing