Speaking of salvia spathacea,I planted hummingbird sage plants in February and they haven't been doing very well in my yard. They get intense sun for about 2/3 of the day, and in shade for 1/3 of the day. I can never figure out if I'm giving them too much or too little water. Anybody have any suggestions? Are your hummingbird sages in more shade than mine? Thanks!

I use "adjustable" fluorescent light fixtures (on chains) and an adjustable grow light. My son and I created the system from a set of metal shelves purchased from Home Depot (the shelves are mesh, meant for a bathroom) and fluorescent shop lights, which hang above each shelf. On the top shelf, I have my grow light, which I bought last year. Many thanks to my brother, who gave us a gift card to Home Depot for Christmas! To keep the seedlings from getting leggy, you need to have the light bulb very close to them. As they grow, you move the light up a bit. My plants are too big already but that is my fault for planting too early. They aren't leggy, though, they are beautiful. Unfortunately, I have too many of them for the space and thus can't start any more of seeds . . . I need another set of shelves, but don't have another gift card! Becky

Thank you art. I guess under the oaks on the west side where the low fall sun gets under the oaks will be a good place, or under a red oak that looses its leaves for the Arizonica. It does look like a shade dweller. I have some cinder blocks to build a cold frame. My Gregii are sprouting everywhere with all these well timed rains. The S. Darcyi is thriving but not blooming. I think I had it to much in the shade so I moved them all out into the mean bright hot world this week. It has a long time to get itself situated before next summer.. I only watered it early in the spring and it did well, but no blooms. How is the S.hierosolymitana doing.? As I told you before I killed mine. Is it blooming? SEEDS?...she says ever so sweetly. Oh the S. lemoni (#2) is from a mountain population in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. It has a darker more purple Carmine flower. THey were wild collected by Southwestern Native Seeds. This is a first time acquiring seed from them.

It's easy to germinate, and self-sows. In addition to the conditions you mention, you will need alkaline soil (dolomitic limestone is great) and some duff from conifers (chopped up pine needles, but juniper is better) in the soil mix. It's called cedar break sage because it's found in breaks in the Edwards Plateau, These are spots on the plateau at its edge where streams have eroded a pathway, with the caliche soil breaking into boulders in the shade of Texas junipers. Duff gathers in the pockets, and these damp spots are where it can be found. I visited such a location back in the late 70s. I replicated the conditions using hemlock needles mixed with dolomitic limestone in a small garden at my parents home in western Massachusetts the next year with great success.