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santamiller

Sum and Substance with a twist---

santamiller
9 years ago

----of Tropical Salvia. The salvia grew up from behind the pot, through the leaves and came up in the middle. I didn't notice it until the flowers opened.

Comments (10)

  • User
    9 years ago

    Now that is a companion planting with a twist. Glad you caught it. I have about 6 pots of the red native kind of salvia, (cardinal flower?) recently arrived to go with my hosta....something to look forward to happening here.....Thanks, Santa.

    EDIT to add
    I kept thinking about that picture of yours, Santa, and it finally hit me.....your S&S still looks perfect.

    I'll have to go take a look at mine, see what it is doing.
    Your hosta are still going strong apparently. Is it cooling down over there, Santa? Our nights are down around the mid 70s, right now it is 78, which ain't bad. Still hot of a day, but not so bad in late afternoon. I intended to take pictures today of those still standing and looking good. But......I got side tracked.

    (I got the estimate for the remodel work.....and had a moment of "pause.") hehehehe

    This post was edited by moccasinlanding on Sun, Sep 21, 14 at 22:00

  • User
    9 years ago

    Here is my S&S that I wanted to show you, Santa. I've had this plant since May 2010. It was in the ground up in MA for 2 growing seasons. I potted it up in Nov 2011 and it went dormant potted. It grew in the pot for 1 year before I removed the soil of Massachusetts from around it and planted it in MiracleGro (no moisture) and it did eh okay until July of 2013 when I realized it would make a great companion to Empress Wu in the Experimental Driveway Bed, of in ground hosta. So I was pleased to see it look like this in spring of 2014. I put a watering olla beside it to make sure the ground around the roots stayed cooler without frequent watering. Cannot wait to see it next spring.

    S&S is a strong plant in southern gardens. What I wish to edit and add is........this picture shows S&S in the ground amended with a layer of bark six or so inches down, soil on top, and another layer of bark mulch. There is a watering olla to hold moisture near the roots and to cool the soil. This hosta gets about 5 hours of zone 9a afternoon sun. It is shaded by clumping bamboo behind it to the south, and the fronds of two young palm trees.

    This post was edited by moccasinlanding on Sun, Sep 21, 14 at 22:52

  • santamiller
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    That picture of your S&S looks perfect! I bought mine in the spring of 2013. It looks like that until around July and then it starts getting some leaf damage if it gets even the slightest bit dry. It really didn't get any larger this year than last which surprised me. Maybe a little more full but not a lot. Also if we have any strong wind it damages some of the leaves. I just edited out the bad leaves from the picture, so trust me, the picture gives somewhat of a false impression. :)

    We are also in the mid 70s at night now and around 90 during the day. Some of my plants are certainly showing signs of the impending winter but most are not. S&S is not one of them so far. My Guacamole is starting to droop big time like it's ready to go to sleep. A am seeing a few leafs and stems here and there going brown and colors are fading.

  • santamiller
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I forgot to mention, your S&S looks especially amazing for getting direct afternoon sun! Mine gets some but not nearly that much. I may have to experiment with a more sunny area next year and see what happens since so few can take much if any afternoon sun and not burn.

  • User
    9 years ago

    As you might can tell, light is coming from the right side which is the west in the above photo. I refill the watering olla jar regularly, and I think that helps a lot. Of course, this plant has great substance, and is an easy one to grow just about anywhere. If it grows in the south, it has to be strong.

    I don't consider S&S a fast growing hosta. Mine dates from May 2010, with two replantings to sort of handicap it. I was hoping, as you, to see significant growth this 5th growing season, but I can wait until spring. I have high hopes for it in 2015.

    Meanwhile, the neighbor's cat likes to sleep beneath it. I suppose the soil is kept cooler with that olla to moisten the soil.

    EDIT to comment about direct afternoon sun.
    Yes, S&S now gets direct afternoon sun. I'll get a picture of it today because it really does look fine now. I am surprised and pleased, just concerned about it not becoming a giant yet. I cannot emphasize enough how important I think having the olla dug into the zone around the roots, to help keep the soil cool. Perhaps that promotes the aspiration of the leaves, the "sweating" if you will, to be able to stand the location. Not soggy roots, but cool roots.

    And, as an aside, there is a whole family of hosta which delight me with their ability to thrive in my garden. And that would be the Squash Casserole family. I'll make a new thread to discuss that, so look for it. I'm going out to take pictures today, and will be sure to take new shots of each one. It is "school picture" time in my garden.

    This post was edited by moccasinlanding on Mon, Sep 22, 14 at 10:58

  • santamiller
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I'll look forward to that with great anticipation as I work on my list for next year's order.

  • User
    9 years ago

    Well, Santa, indeed I took pictures today. Did not get to the driveway bed though. It took forty minutes to move pics off my phone to my computer. Now I give them all tags and such as that. I did get the Squash Casserole family though.

  • User
    9 years ago

    Santa, the Squash Casserole and progeny thread is active now.

  • bkay2000
    9 years ago

    Santa, my list for the spring will include lots of southern proved smalls, or "somewhere" proved smalls. Some of my older ones are approaching 5 years and have outgrown their pots. Somehow, I ended up with mostly large or extra large hosta. Adding the smaller ones will add contrast without taking much space.

    I like the colors of the hosta and the salvia together.

    bk

  • don_in_colorado
    9 years ago

    Nice bold splash of color, Santa. Looks really good. : )

    Don B.