Ninamora - I could collect some salvia darcyi seeds for you later this summer or possibly send you a plant. I planted one last spring that made it through the winter here and appears to have even made it through the late freeze that we had - still keeping my fingers crossed just in case. I collected a few seeds last year that I winter sowed and now have five seedlings. I am interested in salvias that might winter over in zone 6 or at least 7, especially hummingbird magnets. Please email me or post here. (I've heard a couple times lately that Gardenweb's email system isn't working very well).

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

Thanks, Robin! I think I finally found one today that had not dropped its seed yet. I discovered by reading the FAQ on the seed saving guide that if you look down into the calyx you can see the seed sitting there, and you can tell if it's ripe yet or not. I found a tannish colored calyx and opened it up and several seed spilled out - ripe, they were a dark brown to black color. Problem is, I wasn't prepared for the number of seeds the capsule contained, and it all spilled on the ground. There must have been 8-10 seeds in it! I thought there would be fewer than that because from what I read there should only be up to 4 seeds, one in each chamber????? I've got to get some paper bags so I can collect the calyces and store them until they've dried out. The seeds are tiny in comparison to the size of the blooms on darcyi. Susan

The lovely Salvia sclarea will only bloom in its second year from seed. This Salvia likes warm conditions in summer, not too humid, but enough water to keep it going when the weather is dry. In my experience, it thrives in poor, well-drained soil, so I would suggest that you hold back on fertiliser. Beware of slugs and snails around young plants, in spring, as they adore this species.