you need a piece of stem with node & 1 leaf attached (NO FLOWERS). The real problem is that with the bag method mold easly forms UNLESS you air out the bag 2-3 times a day. I do not use a bag but do mist the cuttings several times a day with a old windex bottle. I also have a fine mist nozle that fits on the garden hose.....

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).

Quoting Betsy Clebsch...salvias that are shade tolerant: arizonica blepharophylla brussonetii cacaliifolia castanea chamelaeagnea chiapensis corrugata digitaloides discolor divinorum dorisiana 'Frieda Dixon' glutinosa hirtella holwayii involucrata koyamae littae miltiorrhiza miniata polystachya prunelloides recurva roemeriana rypara sagittata scutellarioides shannoni splendens/ Van Houttei sprucei wagneriana

My first B and B cuttings went right in the soil around the mother plant (maybe five or six together) and were covered with plastic bottles. B and B actually has tubers under it sort of like dahlias and send out stolens or runners underground. I keep cuttings short, buring 2/3 of what I cut off, leaving just a pair of leaves above the soil. Just be sure to bury one leaf node (where you have removed the leaves). (That cover to hold a little moisture in lets you know when to water and then just watch for new growth. When new growth starts, give a little half strength plant food. It will probably take 6 to 9 weeks for them to be ready to be potted up.