Return to the Hummingbird Garden Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
Posted by heather__michigan Z5 (My Page) on Mon, Oct 26, 09 at 22:41
My Hummers LOVED the Black & Blue more than any other flower, And even more than their feeders!! It is not hardy here in MI, The tag says hardy to Z. 7,
I wonder,.. Can I dig it up and put it in my basement like we do with Cannas? Or Is it the type of plant that needs to be green year round. I know I don't have much time to decide up here in MI, I'm surprised it is still green!!
Thanks for reading, And any and All advice,
Heath |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| Hi Heath, you could try it, it did not work for me. One year I had a b&b planted in the ground, and I covered it with a rose cone cover over winter. It survived, while the b&b's not covered died. I had tried overwintering one in the basement, however, it dried out and died. If you have 2 b&b's, try testing 2 methods to see which one works for you. It's worth a try, and if you succeed, it's always such a nice accomplishment. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| Last year I had three black and blue salvia in South Jersey and they overwintered. I think it may have just been a fluke. So this year I took cuttings. This was my first attempt at taking cuttings. Most of them are doing well and one even has a bloom. They must be super easy if I did it on my first try. I'm hoping to keep them in the house and plant out in the spring. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| What do you have to lose? In my zone 6 climate I have only had one black and blue come back and it was last year. Since you are even colder me , its worth a shot. On the other side of the coin I will say that some people give up on them too soon as even though the plant might look dead , they may have runners survive undeground and sprout if you wait long enough. They are a late spring greener. I have also taken some blue ensign cuttings as I like them even better than black and blue. There is also another plan of attack, per overwintering. After the garden goes dormant cut the plants down to a couple of inches above the crown then cover with bags of leaves and then cover with plastic sheeting, bisqueen, etc. This is something I read about and will try on my main garden as an experiment and the answer will come about next may. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
This year all my B&B salvia came back that were planted on the South side of my house, close to the house. Strangely, 2 lady in reds just sprouted a few weeks ago on the East side and began blooming. This will be my first year to try to save them. I'm super mulching the South side. Bringing a couple in, in pots, plus taking some cuttings.
First try at Cannas too. Some are in a pot in the dining room and the rest in a box in the basement. I'd try some with
all the methods suggested. Kind of fun too, wondering what the outcome will be in spring. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| Steve, I hope you have good success with the heavy mulch/plastic experiment. Next year I will have a bunch of annuals I'll likely want to overwinter(B&B, David Verity, etc) and I don't have a sunroom, attached garage, or enclosed porch to store plants in. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| Steve, what plants in your main garden will you be attempting to save with your experiment? |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| hawkeye My main reason for the experiment is for black and blue, blue ensign, coccinea lady in red etc. I also have agastache rupistris and penstemon and tutti frutti in the patch. I took some blue ensign cuttings and tutti frutti but I can tell already they wont make it. But the cuphea david verity cuttings are doing great. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
hawkeye
The main thing for the salvias like black & blue is well draining soil. You can mulch until the cows come home but if the soil stays wet during the winter especially those plants are less likely to survive. Cupheas on the other hand need moisture but can't take the cold. I don't have an attached garage, sun room or basement and very few windows that allow enough light to overwinter sun lovers but my cupheas have to come in for the winter. It is too tropical to survive the cold. The cupheas are best to do cuttings while they are still actively growing and blooming which will do well even in lower light conditions inside. My tropicals are all in my kitchen in front of the west facing french doors that lead out to the deck. During the winter they get light but very little bright sunlight until later in the winter and only afternoon sunlight. Once the temps stay abouve freezing here I move them out to my front porch which faces south and leave them there until it warms up enough to put them out. If you have a basement, you can cut the plants way back and put them into a black plastic trash back and seal it up and put them in the basement for the winter. Sealing the back will keep enough moisture in the bag for them to survive. Then as the days start to warm up you can bring them out of dormancy. Penny |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| The DV cuttings that I have going are inside under shop lights. The 4ft double bulb with wide flare shields are what I use. I dont have a lot of cuttings so it works for me. I guess you learn from year to year while these are growing how to deal with them. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| Hi Heath - I successfully overwintered Black and Blue last year in the ground by piling a few feet of shreaded leaves on top. I also have a quick and space-saving way of bringing them in for the winter. I posted it on the salvia forum and have included a link below. I've used this method for two years and it works great. Bellatrix |
Here is a link that might be useful: How to overwinter black and blue salvia
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| Hummersteve, Is your Blue Ensign a Pulmonaria? According to http://www.perennials.com/seeplant.html?item=1.449.060 that plant is hardy to Zone 2 |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| Hummersteve is referring to salvia guaranitica "blue ensign". It is basically green and blue rather than black and blue. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| stevec Yes hawkeye is correct I was referring to guaranitica blue ensign. What I like about it is it grows even taller than black and blue easily 4ft plus. It usually is a later bloomer as it has to get its growth first, but the hummers seem to like those tall blooms. The only thing I grow that is taller is the tutti frutti that goes 5ft and the hummers love those too. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| hummersteve, where did you get the blue ensign? Kathi in Madison also really likes her guaranitica brazilian blue, which is pretty much the same thing. If I can find a green and blue next spring I may try one. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
Hawkeye,
Steve got his Salvia g. Blue Ensign from Rich Dufresnes at A World of Salvias. Rich is a plant breeder who specializes in Salvias (Link below). Penny |
Here is a link that might be useful: A World of Salvias list of salvias
good method Bella trix
| | |
Bella trix,
I like your method of overwintering your B&B. Definitely takes up much less space. Penny |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| hawkeye Penny is correct I got the blue ensign from "world of salvias" Since the interest seems to be there hope you dont mind me popping a few pics for comparison. Also be aware the rich blue is strongest early on , as the flower starts to fade it becomes less blue. Maybe this will help you and others make your decision. here you can see a hummer working it over
 in the background you can see the smaller black and blue
 here you can see it battling it out with tutti frutti for space both easily topping 4ft, I cannot guarantee yours to grow as big depending on soils etc.
 |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| The blue is a nice looking plant. Is that a greggii in the lower right and a subrotunda in the back right? I am now considering putting a green & blue in the spot I had been considering a subrotunda... along a fence next to a coral honeysuckle and some agastache rupestris. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| hawkeye Correct on all counts along with several different kinds of coccinea, rupistris, penstemons and others |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| I just realized I have an old 4 ft long double bulb fluorescent light above my little-used workbench in the basement. The bulbs are Sylvania F40CW/RS/SS, whatever the heck that means. Can I keep plants going over winter and also grow lady in red from seed next spring by setting them under this light? |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
Hawkeye,
You should be able to. A lot of people just use standard flourescent bulbs rather than actual grow lights and they work just fine. You may have to adjust the height of the lights in relationship to the plants but it will work. I don't use light at this point but I am sure someone here can give you the right info. There is also a Growing under Lights Forum where you can get some sound advice. Penny |
Here is a link that might be useful: Growing Under Lights
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| hawkeye When I first started using the shoplights I bought one grow light bulb 2 or 3 yrs ago or longer, anyway Im still using that bulb but I cant really say its any more of a benefit than a regular bulb and it costs twice as much. It may be more for cuttings than seed germination. Any seeds that I try I usually start in late feb/early march. Right now a shoplight setup in my entry hallway [no gro-lite] for my cuphea cuttings which are still quite small. I also have one setup in a large walkin closet which I use to root cuttings and seeds, but you can do it in a basement or a garage just as well , I would think. In rooting cuttings 12-16hrs a day is good. But germination of seeds you can go 24/7 till they germ. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| I wonder if having shop lights on for several months would even be worth it, cost-wise, compared with just buying a handful of new plants in late spring. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| hawkeye My guess is if you leave the kitchen light on for 20min it would use more kilowatts than the shoplight for 24hrs. But its a matter of personal preference as far as growing cuttings or seedlings, either you enjoy it or you dont. I would say if you dont get any personal satisfaction from it then dont bother. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| I do like growing flowers from seeds. I even did a lady in red test-run late this season. I planted a few seeds on July 20th(under a small fluorescent light above my kitchen counter) and wanted to see how fast they grew so I'd know how early I can get them started next spring. I got a couple of them into the ground in two months and they were about to bloom when the awful, cold October weather shut everything down. I'm currently thinking I'll have about ten plants that need to be growing inside under lights by early spring. I still have plenty of time to worry about keeping plants alive next winter. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| Salvia black and blue can easily be wintered over in the colder zones by digging the clump up (you will see tubers or rhizomes in the root mass) and potting it up in a pot. Keep it in an area that stays above freezing but still cold like an unheated garage or even crawl space if you have one. Water only when the soil dries out. Bring it out the following spring once the last frost chance has passed and plant it outside. I have had friends in Michigan use this technique for several years to keep salvia Black and Blue alive for them. |
RE: Can I over-winter Black & Blue Salvia?
| | |
| Thanks everyone for your input! I have really learned a lot, I think I'm going to try exactly what nckvilledudes suggests and put my potted B@B in my cold basement. Maybe I can even split it up??? I look foward to success either way. I'll just have to remember to water now and then to keep it alive. Thanks again.
Heth |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Hummingbird Garden Forum
|
|
|
