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Which Mexican Sage to Plant to Extend Bloom Time?
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Posted by midnightstorm Zone 6 - West Virgin (My Page) on Sat, Jan 27, 07 at 22:14
| Are there different types of purple/blue Mexican Sage that I can I plant together to extend bloom time? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Which Mexican Sage to Plant to Extend Bloom Time?
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| I'm assuming you mean Salvia mexicana, not S. leucantha (Mexican Bush Sage). Most of the mexicanas start about the same time, though the smaller flowered ones (mexicana minor, Limelight) start a few weeks earlier than the general cluster of Lollie Jackson, Puerto de la Zorra, La Placita, Tula, Elise, and Ocampo. The last three are the giants and are a bit slower. The last to bloom is Compton's form, by about three weeks. Andy Maycen's mexicana x gesneriiflora Raspberry Truffle is a gem, looking like gesneriiflora in habit and having a bloom season that starts with the main cluster of mexicanas and continues through the end of the gesneriiflora bloom. Its black raspberry flowers are larger than both typical mexicanas and gesneriiflora. |
RE: Which Mexican Bush Sage to Plant to Extend Bloom Time?
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| I think I mean Mexican Bush Sage but I'm not positive. Did I post on the wrong forum? When I bought a plant last year the tag said Mexican Sage and it was a beautiful plant that the hummingbirds loved. I have moved and would like to plant more at my new home. |
RE: Which Mexican Sage to Plant to Extend Bloom Time?
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| I assumed you meant S. mexicana because you mentioned blue forms. Salvia leucantha does not have any truly blue forms. Most mexicanas are purple to indigo, and the ones with golden lime or chartreuse calyxes (Tula, Limelight, Elise) are cobalt or Delft blue, much like guaranitica. The original leucantha has purple calyxes and white flowers. The next form introduced was Midnight, with all flower parts purple. Santa Barbara is a compact selection of the latter with somewhat paler flowers. There are new selections of leucanthas with all white flowers and another with white calyxes and rosy flowers, not yet introduced in the USA. Then there are the supposed hybrids, Waverly, probably a cross with chiapensis or a similar red sage; Phyllis' Fancy, similar to Waverly, but with bluish tinted flowers as opposed to pinkish tinted white flowers; Anthony Parker, a cross with pineapple sage, a giant with the habit of Indigo Spires and 2 foot long deep indigo flowers that give the spike the aspect and texture of a long stick of charcoal. The species forms of leucantha usually start bloom in late summer and the hybrids Waverly and Phyllis' Fancy a bit earlier. AP blooms later. All of the bloom times are adjustable to the heat or coolness and amount of moisture your season. |
RE: Which Mexican Sage to Plant to Extend Bloom Time?
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| Waverly is the only (leucantha hybrid?) that blooms most of the summer for me. That being said, it doesn't really start to peak until well into August or even September. I grow the regular leucantha types in large pots which can be pulled into the garage if a hard frost or freeze is coming. This usually extends the season into December, long enough to make growing the plant worth the effort. Growing fall blooming sages this way also means you can store the plants in out of the way places until the bloom season begins. |
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