Yep..about the same..thanks jimmyjo.

Well I got blooms on a couple of plants, but the plants only got to be about a foot or so tall. I plan to try again next year....not sure what to do differently, but will figure it out by then--hopefully! :)
gg

Mine didn't grow past about 8 or 9 inches. They were healthy starting off. I think my climate might be a little chilly for them.

Northerner/Wendy,

What kind of soil do you have them in? My guess is that they would be in full sun.

They are very nice. Mine didn't do snything at all. Will have to try again next year.

I planted mine in a new "lasagna" bed that had a top dressing of rotted sheep manure. My base is a sandy soil. Yes..they do like sun. I have a lot of seeds from this year's crop, so I'd be happy to send a good sized package off to you. With my mishap this spring..sowing too early, then using the rest later on in May, I have to think that best results for us may be direct sowing when the soil is totally warmed up (late May for me), with absolutely no chance of frost.
(I'll still spring sow some anyway, cuz you never know mid-April..things may just get warmer from there on!)

Finally got some shots uploaded. Here's my Yvonne's, with "excerta" in the background, and "red texas sage" in the front. The hummers were all over this bed. I should have some seeds to share.
{{gwi:366982}}

Wendy, your salvias are the mirror image of mine - my Excerta are to the right/behind my Yvonne's with some Texas Red in front of them. Like you, I had lots of hummingbirds in that part of the garden.

Tiffy, mine are in sun most of the day, barring late afternoon since they are in front of my Asclepias incarnata. The soil is average - a piece of 'stolen' lawn. I took off the grass and amended with some composted cow manure. I did not cultivate it very deeply, but they sure put down some healthy roots and 'trunks'. I have been collecting seeds daily since mine bloomed so late, but I don't have many since they didn't all get to dry on the plants. Our first big snow storm came today, so there won't be anymore. I have already promised some, but my ten seeds gave me ten plants and it was a lovely show, so I think I'll package them up in sets of ten and see what I have left.

I am considering starting mine indoors next year. Although I had germination April 27, it took about 6 weeks before they were 2 inches tall and strong enough to be planted out, so that might be best for my climate. Will keep you posted.
Northerner.

My Yvonne's salvia did not grow as tall as I expected, and they bloomed late. I started them indoors and planted them out at the same time as my other annuals. Then they just sat there and languished through a cold and wet June. They didn't die but they turned yellow and looked very sad. When the warm weather finally arrived they perked up and performed well. Next year I will start these later and wait until June to plant them out. I'd also space them closer together.

Thanks again, Joe, for making these lovely plants available to us here in Canada.

- Bev

Beautiful salvia! I love salvia. I grew some Yvonne's this year also but it never got over a foot tall. I did get blooms on the short plants though, but wasn't able to collect seed either as we have had several heavy frosts and it started snowing Tuesday night and we woke to everything covered in several inches of snow on Wednesday morning.
I didn't plant all the seeds that I had for them so I have some to try again next year. I think that I will definitely try to start them inside to see if I can get them to reach their full potential next year.
gg

GG, we also had that terrible snow storm here - over 15 cms., downed trees and power outages. However, over the past few days, I went out to my Yvonne's plants and found that some of the flowers left on the plants are still maturing their seeds. You may want to have a look if yours are still standing. I get only a few a day, but they will add up. That's how I got mine in the first place, by going out and looking in the flowers to see if they were black. I would just tap them, and if they were ready, they would fall out. It seemed to me that the flowers would turn downwards, spilling their seeds, if left to ripen completely.
Northerner.

I went out after the last frost, when all the leaves looked like cooked spinach, but some of the flower brachts were still upright. I snipped off the flower spires and have them drying inverted in a large paper bag. I'm hoping I may get some more viable (black) seeds if they ripen on. I won't be sharing this last crop of seeds in case they aren't ripe enough to germinate..but I will try them myself in the spring and report back.
I'm thinkin' like the old "hang the whole tomato plant upside down in the garage and still eat the tomatos theory".

northerner_on/wendy2shoes or anyone,

Sorry to bring this thread back to life! Those are amazing pictures! I'm drooling over them :)

So sowed some on small pots about 10 days ago. Not one has come up. They're like 1/4" deep covered. I did some research, I found out that they should be on top and slightly pressed against the soil. Is this true?

Tell me your secrets folks! Thanks!

Neil

Hi Neil: I can only tell you my experience so far. The first year I WS'd on April 19 and had germination by April 27, 10 plants from 10 seeds, but the plants took forever to grow. It was June 23 before they were large enough to plant out and they sat there again forever until August. The result was the late blooms as shown in the pic. above, and great difficulty getting viable seeds.

The second year I decided to grow them indoors under lights. I usually start them in the warmth of my heat vent, but nothing happened after 7 days. I then moved the little pot under the lights and in 2 days had sprouts. I had to do a few batches to get my quota of 10 seedlings (the late bloom meant many non-viable seeds) but they all showed up in 2-3 days after being put under lights. I was able to plant out a bit earlier and had my first blooms on Aug 1.

This year I started my seeds between coffee filters (April 21) and did the 'under the lights' test. Seeds did nothing for 9 days, then put under the lights and germination in 2 days. Germination was again low (25% and 65%) to get my 10 plants but they are now 3 inches tall and will be planted out this weekend. I am very pleased with this result.

So my advice is to try to start them indoors if possible so you can get a long enough growing season to give you enjoyable blooms and enough time to set viable seeds. I was always sceptical of instructions which said 'needs light to germinate' as I thought it was obvious, but they seem to need it whether you WS or grow indoors. I would also sow very lightly - just a sprinkling of soil over the seeds. These plants are really incredible: humming birds will fly in front of them for long periods. A certain pair would actually 'dance' in front of them daily.

As far as soil is concerned they grew in a narrow bed of 're-claimed lawn' that was amended with a little composted cow manure. They were in full sun until late afternoon and were not fertilized in any way. You may also want to pray for a warm, early spring!!!

You are in Zone 5a USA which is probably warms up a bit earlier than we do. If you get seedlings from your present sowing, you will probably get a late bloom, but viable seeds may be a bit 'iffy'. But go for it - they are worth the trouble.
Good Luck!!
Northerner.

Thanks for all the tips Northener. I'll try them! :D

hi northerner_on,

Out of 40+ seeds(given and from my own harvest), only 2 germinated. Right now, she's 10-12 inches tall only. I guess, this salvia is not Yvonne. This could probably be the seed I harvested in Baraboo, Wisconsin. It's salvia splendens. Here is a picture I took last year. It does exactly look like this.

{{gwi:431730}}

However, I really would like to have Salvia Yvonne. Does anyone have any seeds please? :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Salvia

Hi Neil: How nice hear from you - resurecting this old thread. As I promised, I started my YS indoors this year, planted them out a bit earlier and had very favourable results. I had my first bloom on August 9, after which it continued to fill out and is still blooming, since we have not yet had a hard frost. I lost two plants to earwigs, which were terrible here this year. My location was also different, a bit shaded so the plants grew to about 4.5 feet and the blooms were about 10 inches long, but the grouping, as opposed to the row to which I was restricted in prior years produced a nice effect. I have been collecting seeds almost daily for a while now: I just knock the blooms over a bowl and the ripe seeds fall out, sometimes collecting a few earwigs which like to hide in the flowerets. As you know, we are not allowed to send seeds over the border, but I do have a friend in Ohio who is growing them for the first time this year. I will contact him and see if he has some to spare. I have already agreed to share mine, but I may have a few extras to offer for trade.

I had never seen the pics. of the blue salvia, but they are very pretty. I believe we could grow them as annuals. I have been concentrating most of my energies on veggies this year and have just harvested butternut squash, gourds, blue & white potatoes. I also have lots of green tomatoes which I hope to make into relish and jam.

I only have pics. of my YS in its early stages. I'll see if I can get a pic. tomorrow because it has really filled out and looks great next to my Brugmansia, which is now blooming after 3 years!! I'll be in touch.
Northerner.