salvia guaranitica black & blue

15 years ago

I need a coach!

Can someone tell me the best way to start a patch of this plant??? I'm a BIG fan of hummers, but I don't like red. This plant is going to be a big part of my future landscaping but I need help getting started!!

Buy seeds? buy seedlings? best soil? best watering? best way to ensure winter survival? Do they reseed? spread? anything else I should know?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

Ann in Maryland

zone 7A, decent soil, lots of compost

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Comments (6)

ctnchpr
15 years ago
I grew my first B&B's last year, and I'm in love!! I bought 2 plants in the Spring, put them in half whiskey barrels, they got huge, and have large tubers on the roots now. They should come back this year. I took cuttings in mid-Summer, and they rooted & bloomed by the end of the season. Four of them are overwintering in my house. The link below is to the Salvia forum, you can get much more info there.

Here is a link that might be useful: Results of Search for B&B on Salvia Forum
nckvilledudes
15 years ago
I have grown this plant for over 15 years and it draws hummers over red flowers in my garden. I suggest you purchase a plant that is reasonably sized and put it where you don't mind it running since it does tend to spread itself around by underground rhizomes. It overwinters for me in zone 7a here in NC with no issues. If you have any doubts if it will overwinter for you, you can lift the rhizomes in the fall after the top has been frosted back and store the rhizomes in a pot in an unheated garage. Just periodically check the rhizomes and don't let them dry out. In the spring, replant the clump back outside where you want it to grow.
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Steve: Agastache barberi x mexicana `Toronjil Morado' is the parentage of A. `Tutti Frutti'. I made the cross under Gro Lites way back in the early 80s. Like all Agastaches, it is not only fertile, but promiscuous, and will cross with other members of the genus. A. barberi contributes hardiness (more of a subalpine plant), and A. mexicana contributes tolerance to humidity, since it is subtropical. It won't matter if it is the only Agastache in your garden, either. Its seeds will not come true, since they will be F2 progeny, and will range in both directions from the parents, which are rather similar in form. It would take a trained botanist to tell them apart. So if you are offering seed please mark them as Agastache x `Tutti Frutti' to indicate that they are not the same as the parent. It is really easy to ignore the "x" in the labelling. If anyone allows self-sowing or deliberately sets out a bunch of seedlings for trialling, then selects a champion plant, please give it a new name, and let me know where it came from, so I can keep the names straight when asked. I really appreciate everyone's efforts to keep the provenance of various Agastache sports straight.
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Because of last years drought vole numbers were probably down. Voles have never done much damage to my patches, but in the winter of 06-07 they ate several hundred Crocosmea Lucifer corms, nearly wiping out a very old patch. Last winter was so mild that I saw a couple of nice returns. In Indigo Spires is now four feet tall and blooming. Some years they do half survive but until this year they all died after making some attempts at growth in early spring. Involucrata also survived. Guaranitica Van Remsen seems truely tender, I tried them in various gardens seperated by miles and none returned. The strangest tender surviver this year was Cuphea David Verity. I had given one to someone who lives nearby and hers has returned.
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Ann
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you! I'm in 7A also, so if yours are always OK, mine should be too? I'm hoping for something I don't have to tend in the winter.

I have a great spot for it with high visibility and room to spread. I'll just track down a plant and give it some TLC!

THANKS AGAIN!

Ann
wardda
15 years ago
I live in 6b/7a and have grown Black & Blue for many years in the ground. It doesn't spread quite as quickly as it does in more southern zones but it does expand. If I were wanting a big patch I would order a few to arrive in early March, repot them in larger pots, feed them, and root cuttings from the new shoots. You could quadruple your stock by mid May and so increase your planting. Before you get too hooked on guaranitica Black & Blue you might want to consider your options. Another favorite which blooms better for me is Brazil and last year in its first year here Blue Ensign also did well. A popular one at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania is Kobalt.

The key to survival is dry feet in winter and early spring.
Ann
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you Wardda! I'll look them up!

I can't believe it's time to order plants already!

: ))))

Ann
hummersteve
15 years ago
Yes, they are a hummer magnet as I can attest to over the last 3 years. From seed you take a chance they may not come true . Might be best to start a few plants then take cuttings from those to be sure. Also these do not have to be in full sun to do well. In my area zone 6 I have not had any live thru my winter .

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salvia guaranitica black & blue

Comments (6)

ctnchpr

nckvilledudes

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Ann
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wardda

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hummersteve

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salvia guaranitica black & blue

Comments (6)

ctnchpr

nckvilledudes

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AnnOriginal Author

wardda

AnnOriginal Author

hummersteve

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GET HELP

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Ann
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Ann
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