That is very small and ideal for pot culture, Rouge. I only have some unidentified blue flowered greggii which stays around 2.5 ft. Mostly though, they seem to tend towards tall but not dense (so I am holding my breath a bit, having added another half dozen or so. in my teeny garden). I did evict (enormous) Amistad, but then, bafflingly, bought the not dissimilar 'Amigo.' Plus one I have never actually seen IRL - s.corrugata, a couple of leucantha types and a couple of arrow leaf hybrids (sagitatta x Blue Butterflies) and a couple of subrotunda. Gulp.

Hey @rosaprimula UK (Cambridge) Z8/9, I only have room for salvias in containers.

(I tried to overwinter "Amistad" in the ground but I was not successful)

Yeh, mine too, Rouge. They still get massive tho'. Amistad was in a raised bed so it got absolutely gigantic after a couple of years (had to retire to more spacious allotment). Before Amistad, I had an involucrata in the raised bed and it got so big it invaded the greenhouse. I retired that to oblivion.

I raised the rotunda from seed and failed to notice it's common name - Giant Brazilian red...so I am really apprehensive about this one (the other is already at the allotment).

I couldn't help myself when I swapped some seeds for abutilon vitifolium - another enormo-plant which I have no room for (but I am going to insist my daughter grows it in her (much emptier) allotment* as it is so gorgeous.

*As of a month ago, all 3 of my offspring now have allotments. Job of parenting now done.

"...As of a month ago, all 3 of my offspring now have allotments. Job of parenting now done..."

Congrats rosa, lol! I would say job *well* done!

:)

Dee

Ditto to @diggerdee zone 6 CT post!

I keep meaning to ask/look up at how allotments "work" in the UK for as far as I can tell there is nothing similar to it in Canada. There are community gardens about but I don't think this is much like your allotments.

@rosaprimula UK (Cambridge) Z8/9, were your offspring on some type of wait list for an allotment? And once one gets it, is it basically yours for life? Is there any yearly, nominal fee for having an allotment? Is there necessarily nearby water?

Yeh, Rouge, there are waiting lists for allotments...but these vary hugely. My daughter applied for, and got an allotment within a coupla months. My eldest had to wait 3 years and only has 2.5 poles (a standard plot is around 10 poles...or 1/16 acre). My youngest got one as soon as he applied because there were many empty plots on his site. I got my (third) allotments through a very roundabout way which didn't involve any waiting lists at all. I had a plot on another site, back in the 80s/90s and also had a plot when I was a (mature) student (in Brighton, 1992-97). Between the 60/70s and present day, over 2/3rds of allotments have vanished - waiting lists can often be decades long, for popular sites. My site is a very small one, with room for 16 full size (10 pole) plots...but often broken down into smaller lots. I have 2, so 20 poles...but back when I had my first allotment, I had 3 full plots (one of which I divided between my oldest kids). The council couldn't

give them away fast enough.

So, when you get a plot, you pay an annual fee for a tenancy contract which is subject to a few stipulations (which vary from council to council or site to site). My eldest's plot is governed by an association and has fairly strict rules regarding structures, sheds and what can be grown...but it is a fairly new site. My plot is on a much older site - it has been allotments for over 100 years and, consequently, is very anarchic regarding sheds, structures, plant choices and so on. You can lose your tenancy if you are unable or unwilling to cultivate the space. I have never seen an eviction on my site but it is much stricter where my eldest grows.

My daughter's is even more anarchic, with some people just keeping livestock or using the space as a play area. Daughter and her builder fella constructed an enormous (and beautiful) greenhouse (from dismantling an old conservatory), fantastic raised beds and a massive fruit cage...but they have spent £££ and over a year just preparing the site...whereas my boys got planting immediately...altho' they all have very different garden styles and methods.

I love annual salvias too, but they stay very small when planted in my garden beds so I've given up on them. I should try them in a container, maybe they would perform better?

Rouge, in the nineties there used to be allotments not too far from where I live in Canada. Last I heard, they have been turned into a community garden where they grow vegetables for whoever needs them.

It is an old and well known phenomenon in the Netherlands too. The original concept was to give city folks a spot to grow vegetables and maybe some flowers. My granddad had one, and a SiL always had one too. They are usually on the outskirts of a city, and funnily enough often along train tracks. On some you are allowed to build little garden houses, where with luck you are permitted to stay overnight during the warmer part of the year. Those are basically tiny summer cottages. I used to see them when we took the train to Amsterdam, and I envied the people lucky enough to have such romantic little doll's houses. Do the ones you know allow those cottage type buildings, Rosaprimula?

For sure try again @mazerolm_3a. I love them in large part because of their ability to attract hummingbirds.

but they stay very small when planted in my garden

I'm surprised as I would think salvias would be do their best in ground but for sure they do just wonderfully in containers.

Anyways, take a peek here for lots of good salvia discussion:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6387984/comparision-of-big-blue-and-mystic-spires-salvia

Gee, I guess I am a boring salvia fan. I pretty much only grow s. farinacea Victoria Blue. I think I may have tried Blue Bedder(??) one year when I couldn't get Victoria, but I guess I am oblivious to the wide world of salvias out there, lol. I will have to try to branch out and explore new ones!

Earlier this spring I was out planting my Victoria, and was pleasantly surprised to see two little seedlings of it already in the garden! It usually never comes back for me so that was nice.

:)

Dee

P.S. rosa, you simply MUST learn to post photos! Between your kitchen, your gardens, and now your daughter's allotment, we want to see photos! :)

I guess I am a boring salvia fan. I pretty much only grow s. farinacea Victoria Blue

@diggerdee zone 6 CT, there is no such descriptor for salvias! This thread is intended to encourage members to plant them; plant any and all salvias!

LOL rouge, I meant *I* was boring, not the salvias!

And thanks to this thread, I will indeed look into some of the many salvias I never knew existed!

:)

Dee

Never could it be the case that a gardener who participates on houzz in this forum could be boring!

Impulse buy - I found Salvia x buchananii 'Fashion Cherry'' locally. The tag says zone 6 but I don't think it's that's hardy. The lady that checked me out said it's an annual. I'd never seen salvia buchananii before therefore I bought it. lol

This was a new acquisition for me back in May (Salvia Salgoon Lake Garda).

It is performing as advertised re size ie 14" to 20"...perfect for a container.

But so far I am not bowled over by the colour of the flowers.

"Unplugged So Blue"

https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/salvia/unplugged-so-blue-mealycup-sage-salvia-farinacea

I have 7 of them in this plot:

Will have to try "Unplugged So Blue" for myself! Rouge, your planting is very attractive, love the brickwork as well! :)

(And as expected "Uplugged so Blue" is a bee magnet)

New for me this year are Salvia "Skyscraper Dark Purple' (flowering very well at about 2 feet in height thus far) and S. 'Big Blue', which is in bloom but has yet to really impress.

I'll attempt to overwinter both of these here in zone 7a, as many other supposedly "tender" Salvias have made it through subzero temperatures with protection, including 'Amistad' and various types related to S. guaranitica.

https://www.monrovia.com/skyscraper-dark-purple-salvia.html

Thanks for that 'rusty' ie "Skyscraper". I hope you can keep us up to date on the progress of this plant as the 2 feet you mentioned is almost at the top of its advertised height i.e. 28". (More and more I like smaller salvias, allowing me to plant more using containers).

In the past I have almost exclusively used blu(ish) flowered tender salvias and so this season I made a conscious effort to try some pinky ones. But to me the spent flowers (actually I think it is the empty calyx) contrasts too much with the colour of existing pinkish flowers on the same stalk and so one notices these calyxes too much. And IMO this isn't the case for the blue ones. Do you see similarly?

Will have to try "Unplugged So Blue" for myself!

@FrozeBudd_z3/4, I wont post another picture of the "Group of 7" of UsB but I think they have reached maturity in terms of size. Each are about 2 foot tall by 2 foot wide. They are constantly in flower with never any deadheading required. It is a wonderful annual.

For the first time I planted the salvia "Salgoon Lake Baikal". It took more time than I was wanting for it to take off but now in August it is doing well. It is quite compact and I like the flower colour i.e. light blue.

Blue salvias have been as rare as a blue moon, in my gardens, so I am quite excited to grow salvia farinacea (sp?) this season, having 'retired' Amistad (too huge) and 'Blue Note' (too feeble). I honestly can't keep up with all the different cultivars and have ordered seeds of the straight species...is this going to be disappointing? I also have collected some nemorosa seed. I get that a number of named cultivars are sterile (so long flowering, but I don't mind a reduced bloom time if the plants are healthy and floriferous...and self seeding is a bonus, here in weedy purgatory.

I am not loving salvia corrugata or 'Phyllis Fancy' while s.sagittata x 'Blue Butterflies', although lovely, is proving somewhat flimsy: the tender flower spikes snap off at the merest wisp of a sheepdog tail. S.reptans survived a cold winter but turned up it's toes with a wet one. Other blues have also proved capricious.

Otoh, subrotunda (red) is showing lots of promise

Other blues have also proved capricious.

I am thinking it is a safe bet to say that the "capricious" has never, until now, been used to describe a salvia :). Well done "HU-etc".

Update on 'Skyscraper Purple': my plants are now about 3 feet tall and have been flowering for over a month and a half.

I wintersowed some salvia Big Blue this year. It has grown nicely, good healthy foliage, but it's taking some time to actually bloom. It started about a week or so ago, and while I LOVE the color, the flower stalks are a bit disappointing. All the catalogs show them as being long and "towering" over foliage. Mine are about two inches tall!

I do like that the plant itself is taller, but had expected the flowering stalks to be taller. It's a lot of plant and a small amount of bloom lol. Maybe as they continue to bloom they will get taller.

It does like nice with my seed-sown dalmation peach digitalis though, even though they have been in bloom for weeks and the salvia not so much

rouge that Unplugged So Blue is lovely! What a shade of blue! And please DO post more photos - I'm sure we'd all love to see the plants all filled in!

:)

Dee

“I wintersowed some salvia Big Blue this year. It has grown nicely, good healthy foliage, but it's taking some time to actually bloom. It started about a week or so ago, and while I LOVE the color, the flower stalks are a bit disappointing. ”

I had exactly the same experience with ”Big Blue” last year: plenty of foliage growth all spring and summer, but no sign of flowers until nearly September, and what blooms it did produce were pretty ”meager.”

It’s certainly not my conditions because I grow plenty of other S. farinacea x longispicata hybrids like ”Mysty”, ”Unplugged So Blue” and ”Playin the Blues” to great success!

I had an Amistad in the garden last year. It didn't thrive as Amistad can do as it was in too much shade :(. But just today, the last week of October, with lots of foliage having died back, I spied it in flower! It had survived the winter w/o any intervention from me.

I was amused to see my scathing comments re.Phyllis Fancy from.a coupla months ago. This is proving to be a stellar performer with a graceful growth habit (much more than the somewhat clunky guaranticas. An absolute keeper which will be enthusiastically propagated. Leucantha is belatedly coming into bloom but unless it has some fortitude to survive through November winds, I will not be racing to overwinter in the greenhouse...not least because it is in a gigantic and heavy terracotta pot may not even fit through the door.

Hey Dee, I just now saw your inquiry re "Unplugged So Blue"...sorry for the late reply.

Here is a picture from late August.

Gorgeous combinations there Rouge.I am feeling inspired...and somewhat puzzled. I have to own up to a baffling neglect of hardier sages .I think I have 1 nameless caradonna type (and hyssop, rosemary and such)...plus annual clary and a couple of non-flowering culinary sort. I really don't know why I grew so few - I concentrated on lavenders and nepeta but I hope to remedy this lack next season (I have some farinacea growing from seeds but have never been very successful with mealy sage.Where should I start, do you think?

Mmm, I realise this thread is about TENDER salvias...but still.

Thanks rouge! Actually it's funny you posted this, because I saw that this thread had been updated, thought, I should read through the whole thing to refresh my memory, saw my question above, and then thought, hmm, I don't think I ever got an answer! Lol, I scroll down and here it is. And what an answer! I am definitely putting Unplugged So Blue on my list. The color is lovely and I like the longer flower stalks.

Despite their shorter-than-expected stalks, I have come to really like my Big Blue. Even with the shorter blooms there is still good height on the plant itself, and I do like the darker color. Best of all, it is an absolute pollinator magnet. The swath of salvia is a living, breathing buzzing thing of beauty, even this late in the season. Perhaps *because* it is late in the season and these are still going strong while other blooms have faded. I just stand out there and watch - and marvel at how my knowledge of bees is so limited lol. I've never seen so many kinds of them, and that doesn't even count the other insects doing their thing on the salvia. I will have to start taking pics and doing some research to brush up on my knowledge of pollinators.

:)

Dee

It's good to hear that your Amistad made it through the winter Rouge. I think that one has a reputation for getting very large unless I'm thinking of a different one. My Purple & Bloom made it through the winter last year (with leaves and a plastic bag over it). It grew to at least four foot across this summer and might have been bigger if it weren't for wind damage that broke off some large sections. I stuck several pieces in a five gallon bucket of old potting soil and several of them rooted even with my neglect. Even more surprising was how quickly the cuttings were blooming.

I don't know which salvias form rhizomes besides Black and Blue but with that one, I suspect that those rhizomes are getting tucked under my shrub roots and are a bit protected in the winter from the heat that the roots are giving off. I can't get them to survive out in the open without protection but the ones close to my shrubs come back year after year without any.

My cuttings of "Mystic Spires" have rooted, I'm happy about that, I can generate my stock for next season. I've noticed they're a snap to root in the fall but struggle over the winter months under the lights. I've always wondered why, but I've learned to take more cuttings than I need from the mothers because I know I will have failures when growing the spring crop.

My "Mystic Spires" are still blooming their fool heads off here in late October, even though we've had a couple good frosts. They're up by the house, so more protected. My lone "Black and Blue" still looks nice and healthy but not blooming. I might leave the B&B in place and mulch it well just to see what happens with it over winter.

@HU-618169007 I just tried 'Phyllis' Fancy' for the first time this year without getting my hopes up, since S. leucantha types usually start blooming far too late into the fall around here to be worth it, but 'Phyllis' has been a resounding success! From a single-stem plug planted in May, it has now lept up to about 5' tall by 4' wide, and has been covered in blooms since mid August!

It also hasn't been fazed by the few light frosts we've had, although we're well behind schedule for a hard freeze this fall and it's nearly 80F today on Halloween, so lots of the tender perennials and hardier annuals are hanging on just fine.

@sah67 (zone 5b - NY), thanks for posting a picture of 'Camps' salvia ;). I would love to give it a go with its wonderful flower colour but it is just too big for any full sun location we have :(. I will need to muse about this plant this off season.

I think the lowest we have seen so far is -3C but even so, "Unplugged So Blue" is looking good enough. Here it is on November 16:

^^ Mine are still blooming, too -- looking at little bedraggled after the heavy frosts, but looking good nonetheless under the circumstances. Mine are up by the house, which does protect them somewhat. I do have to take the last of them out, need to get things cleaned up. My cuttings took hold, so their offspring will continue on next year. :0)