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oliveoyl3

overwintering perennial salvia & agastache

oliveoyl3
12 years ago

How you would overwinter autumn sages, Salvia greggii & Agastache 'Acapulco Orange'? How about treating the pots like like fuchsia baskets kept on the dry side & dormant in unheated building?

OR

Would you go ahead & transplant now? Location is in the rain shadow off Bush Point on Whidbey Island. I don't know the exact measurements, but this places has much less rain than the Seattle area and certainly my east King County location.

Comments (4)

  • buyorsell888
    12 years ago

    I had Salvia greggii live over in pots with no special treatment. Outside exposed to sun and rain.

  • reg_pnw7
    12 years ago

    I think if you treat them like a fuchsia basket you should be fine. I've been unsuccessful here in Olympia overwintering any salvias or agastaches in the ground. We get way more rain than Seattle but I think it's the cold that gets mine, they're in a raised bed with excellent drainage.

  • dave_olympia
    12 years ago

    I'm also in Olympia and agree that most new world sages - the greggii/microphylla/x jamensis family, darcyi, chamaedryoides, etc. plus most Agastaches demand this treatment in the South Sound. I think it's the combination of 50 inches of rain, sudden and severe freezes without the opportunity to gradually harden off like last December, and the missing summer heat that they crave. Nurseries in California and the SW have exaggerated their hardiness but NC growers Tony Avant and Rich Dufresne have over-wintered many of these and have comparable or even lower winter lows.

    There are exceptions such as guaranitica from South America, which is the #1 choice of the hummers, and a few others. In addition, many European, Middle Eastern and Asian sages are hardy here.

    I confess to being a full-fledged salvia and fuchsia enthusiast. In the interest of promoting additional conversation now or later, here are most of the ones I'm growing now. These span the range of tropical to marginal to rock hardy. An asterisk indicates especially outstanding garden or container worthiness IMO. My x John Whittlesey, a cross of darcyi and microphylla, is absolutely incredible - I posted a pic of this one recently on the salvia forum. I planted it this year and do not expect it to survive in the ground. I have seeds of many of these. The 2 best autumn sages I have grown are Royal Bumble and Sierra San Antonio. Sorry about the long post, I couldn't resist:
    Salvia algeriensis
    Salvia apiana
    Salvia argentea*
    Salvia arizonica*
    Salvia azurea
    Salvia brevilabra
    Salvia canariensis var.Candidissima*
    Salvia canescens var.daghestanica*
    Salvia castanea
    Salvia chamaedryoides*
    SALVIA Chinensis 'Nanjinja'
    Salvia 'Christine Yeo'
    Salvia clevelandii
    Salvia coccinea'Lady in Red'*
    Salvia corrugata*
    Salvia cyanescens
    Salvia darcyi
    Salvia discolor
    Salvia dolichantha
    Salvia dorisiana*
    Salvia elegans 'Honey Melon'and Tangerine* (Pineapple sage blooms too late, these are the alternatives)
    Salvia farinacea
    Salvia flava var.megalantha
    Salvia forskaehlei
    Salvia glabrescens 'Shi Ho'
    Salvia guaranitica*
    Salvia heldreichiana
    Salvia hians
    Salvia jurisicii
    Salvia koyamae*
    Salvia lavanduliifolia*
    Salvia miltiorrhiza*
    Salvia miniata
    Salvia moorcroftiana
    Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'
    Salvia nubicola
    Salvia nutans
    Salvia officinalis 'Icterina'
    Salvia officinalis 'Tricolor'
    Salvia pachyphylla
    Salvia patens
    Salvia pomifera
    Salvia Purple Majesty*
    Salvia repens
    Salvia schlechteri
    Salvia sclarea
    Salvia sinaloensis*
    Salvia stolonifera
    Salvia taraxacifolia*
    Salvia transsylvanica*
    Salvia viscosa*
    Salvia 'Wendy's Wish'*
    Salvia x John Whittlesey*

  • barbe_wa
    12 years ago

    Hi Corrine, I lost my salvia guaranitica "Black & Blue" when I tried to overwinter it in the ground so this year I'm moving both it and my agastache aurantiaca "Apricot Sprite" into the cold frame for the winter. I hope they can survive there.