Rich:
I worked for a company here who used Mycorrhiza in a
test on newly planted oaks. The tree's grew at twice
the rate other non inoculated tree's did. It was also
on very poor soils.I have always told people about
planting beans with Rhizobium spp. I wonder if someone in
Europe has started testing Salvias already. The europeans
have been ahead of us for a long time in this area.The Salvias and other lamiacae that are grown out of their
native range must be using local bacteria to live.On a different note this may also clear up some problems on growing certain Mexican and California species here in Texas.Being some Mexican Salvias are in areas with Picea,Abies,Pinus and other conifers those inoculants may
work well. I have seen some of the most vigorous Salvia roemeriana in a area with Pinus remota just west of here.
Art

I found that by adding old hemlock needles and limestone to the coarse sand I had in Massachusetts, I got really good growth. A long time ago, I visited Alta Dodds Niebuhr at Bee Caves, and we went into a cedar break, and found it there growing in pockets in limestone boulders where juniper needles had collected.

Lots of the S.roemeriana I found in Hay's,Travis,Real and
Blanco counties is in those cedar breaks the plants
especially in Travis County were small and were not very
vigorous. The really odd thing is all red flowers no
variability in color. The Real County populations were
higher in elevation and much larger in size (under Remote
Pinyon Pine) than under the Juniperus ashei.I would like
to try Yucca Do's from Mexico see how it performs.
Art

Given that the flowers of S. roemeriama vary in size depending on temperature, I wonder if it is the cool, bright weather that maximizes flower size? This is especially true for Chinese sages, which put out really wimpy flowers when it gets hot. It is also true for New World sages to a lesser degree.

Roemeriana sets cleistogamous (self-pollinating) flowers and a lot of seed in the summer.

I cuncur about the size of S. roemeriana here in Travis county. You mentioned Bee Caves. Was that as in outside of Austin? Were the salvias small? You are getting close to my home now. The use of Compost tea is urged by the HLM (Holistic land Management)people to increase microbial life in the range. I haven't done it yet.

The S. roemeriana flowers were average for the species, and the plant was pendulous.

Bee Caves is WNW of Austin center. The cedar brake is just south of and along the Colorado River near Cuernavaca Drive

When I lived in between San Marcos and Wimberly I grew
S. roemeriana in some soil left over from a Landscape
job in Houston.They grew really well in the decomposed pie bark and sand under Quercus fusiformus big beafy plant
(a foot in Diameter) bloomed nicely seeded out ... The additional organic matter ,lower ph and water. the ones
in the wild were on walnut formation scree and small.I have
seen them growing on large bolders with very little soil too. Mainly under Ashe Junipers in the leaf litter, what an adaptable plant.
Art