any answerers out there?

Maybe I'm dense, but I'm not sure what you are asking....

i'm glad to get a response, donna!

my questions are:
re the salvia: why can't i find the tall salvia anywhere? am i not shopping at the right place, or are they as rare as all that??

re caladium bulbs ... "was there a plague or something a few years back? the bulbs have been of poor quality, and the price has gone thru the roof." do you know what happened in the caladium market to cause this?

thanks!

There are several tall-ish salvias that I grow all the time, though none of them are red. I have guaranitica, Black and Blue, which is 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall; leucantha, which is 3 to 4 feet; and Mystic Spires, which is about 3 feet. Mystic Spires is not reliably hardy in the ground for me, so I take cuttings to overwinter under lights each fall. (Its blooms are so gorgeous and it blooms all summer long, so it's worth the trouble to me.) I have also grown Indigo Spires with great results.

Salvia coccinea comes in red and it is usually around 2 feet. Lady in Red is supposed to be an excellent one, though I don't think I have ever seen it in our little neck of the woods.

Pineapple Sage is larger, beautifully red, and usually available, but only blooms in late fall and promptly dies with the first frost. I have never known it to return. It's about 2 to 3 feet.

Salvia greggii can be taller, and comes in red, but has never pleased me. It's kind of shrubby looking but looks scraggly to me. Sometimes it's winter hardy, but seems to decline each year in my area. My soil is tight and wet, which may be why it doesn't thrive here.

There is also Royal Sage (regla) and Wine Sage (van houttei), both of which are 4 feet and red. I have never seen either one of them available locally, nor have I ever grown them.

With these names, maybe you can do some googleing and figure out what variety you are looking for. If you can't find them locally, perhaps a mail order nursery.

With regard to caladiums, there are different "grades" of bulbs. The ones that are sold in bags of a dozen or so at the Big Box Stores tend to be the smaller ones, and unless they are in ideal conditions, they don't always perform well. I try to buy the larger bulbs, but I can't remember just what they're called: deluxe? jumbo? I don't remember. You're right, the price of bulbs has risen in the last year or two, no double a result of increased gas/shipping costs.

tall red salvia - I can't find this for sale anywhere either, BUT....I just found the seeds...Park's seed....it's called 'Lighthouse' salvia. Supposed to grow 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall. I'm thinking of ordering some....

Caladium bulbs come primarily from south Florida - the Everglades region. In 2004, several hurricanes hit and destroyed the caladium crops.

I've ordered Caladiums from here and always been satisfied. Great selection, and quality bulbs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Caladium World in Sebring, FL