Hi Art,

I did some googling and Swallowtail Garden Seeds has seed available for this variety. http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/annuals/salvia.html

I looks lovely and I'm curious how it compares to 'Forest Fire' which is my current favorite red coccinea.

Danita

Thank you Danita!
It is the 2011 All-American Selections Award Winner at
20" it is going to be larger than forest fire. I want
to compare it to some other S. coccinea I have.
I will look it up
Art

20"!! Thats it? The one i have is 5ft tall. I have a smaller cultivar too. I like the big ones out here. They are flowering 10months out of the year. Completely covered!! Mine set seed everywhere..... if it were up to these two, coccinea and canariensis, my whole yard would be them!!

Brent

p.s. Art, the plants are ready to come your way if you still want them. Thin but rooted well. The cold weather did them in a little. Hope you are feeling well!!

Thank-you for the link. Has anybody tried to grow this one from seeds? I was looking for a red salvia for the humming birds, and I got some seeds from Swallowtail Garden as part of an impatien order. 30 seeds were $2.49. I have not yet planted them, but I think that I want to start them indoors pretty soon. I am in western Washington. I had a red salvia 3 years ago, and the hummers loved it. Since then I have been unable to find any red ones in the local nurseries so I bought some seeds.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We are growing this one. Seedling vigor has been awesome! Can hardly wait for the first flowers in a month or so.

I too have obtained some seed of summer jewel from a friend and have under a shoplight now as I type but has not as yet sprouted. Im later than usual starting this batch as Ive been involved with other seedlings and cuttings which I have been nursing thru the winter. Each season I seem to find a new hot one to try. I to will be wondering if this is truly an
"award winner". But I wasnt aware that it is a coccinea.

You should also loom at the Summer Jewel PINK, which is a 2012 AAS winner. Perfectly matched to the Red, dwarf, well branched, heat and drought tolerant, blooms all season.

riverrelaxn85

Everywhere I check everyone says this only gets 20" tops. So I wonder if your 5' plant is a hybrid with something else.

At any rate my thoughts are to make a border row of these guys since they are only 20" at best.

Another mode of thought considering their lack of height , I might consider putting them in containers to raise them a bit.

I was going to transplant into small and medium pots so I could elevate them. Maybe even in hanging baskets with my fuchsias. I only have 30 seeds. Does anybody know how long from germination to blooming? How do most people germinate the salvias indoors, and what are the key requirements? Could someone reccomend a taller salvia or similar plant that seeds are easy to get and yet are really loved by hummers?

Yes, salvia coccinea 'Lady in Red'. It is a tall one and easy to collect
seeds. Salvia coccinea 'Coral Nymph' is the tall pink version. I grow
them every year.

Since they are coccinea you can expect germination from the 4th day on if they are under good lighting such as fluorescent lighting.

Park Seed has both Summer Jewel red and Pink for $2.95 for 25 seeds. They also have S. argentea 'Artemis' which I have not found offered elsewhere.

I was super lucky in finding summer jewel at a local nursery in bloom. From these photos you can get a preview of their potential. Notice these dont have the center spike lady in red usually has.

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