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whitecap_gw

Cedar Sage Replacement?

whitecap
13 years ago

I set out a cedar sage (salvia roemeriana) in a perennial bed early last spring. It grew quickly and bloomed furiously until the temps soared into the 90's. It continued to grow, but just quit blooming. I did a little research, and discovered it was "cleistogamous." I replaced it with calylophus, which has done quite well. It looks like I may have another opening coming up, because I don't expect my firecracker plant to pull through our recent 18 degree low. I am thinking about replacing it with a salvia, but it will have to be one that can tolerate a fair amount of shade. This area, a raised bed, gets maybe 5 hours of direct sun, with some filtered light. Plumbago, pavonia and Blackfoot daisy do well here. Roses just weren't happy with the shade, though. Most salvias are said to require "full sun." Any thoughts as to which might be the most shade tolerant?

Comments (9)

  • hybridsage
    13 years ago

    Whitecap:
    Where in Zone 8 are you? your plant selections sound like you live in central Texas.
    Here are a few that have worked for me.
    Salvia guarnitica,blepharophylla "Sweet Names" if your looking for a reliable perennial.Do be aware they will
    spread by undergound runners (like plumbago). They will
    also need some water during summer.

    Salvia coccinea,subrotunda,miniata as a reseeding annuals some water in summer.

    Salvia regla, microphylla "Cherry Cheif",muelleri "Viva"
    Salvia x Neovo leon which you may see marketed as "Navajo
    purple" both these plants have the same growth habit and I
    believe are the same plant. These are woody Salvias (for drier beds ) so you don't kill the melampodium leucanthamum aka Blackfoot Daisy.
    All of the above Salvias have a longer bloom time than
    S.roemeriana.
    Art

  • rich_dufresne
    13 years ago

    Actually, S. roemeriana resumes full blooming when it cools back down. If you are in Texas, it should self-sow. Try adding humus from Juniperus species and limestone to the soil, since this sage does well in cedar breaks, where it grows in pockets in the limestone where needle duff accumulates. When I lived in Massachusetts, I mixed in hemlock duff and limestone in the soil where I planted it, and it did well.

  • whitecap
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks. I'm in North San Antonio. I relocated the cedar sage to a more shady spot, and it will have to do or die there. For the bed, I'm looking for something with an extended blooming period. I tried black and blue sage, but had to remove it. It grew well, and was a great favorite with hummingbirds, but the blooms just didn't show up well from a distance. Shoots also started popping up 4 ft. away after just a few months. The bed contains little Texas clay (I probably put way too much organic material in there) and is watered with a soaker hose. I'll check out the recs.

  • whitecap
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Regla cold hardy only to 20 or so?

    I've been looking at some pics of "autumn sage" shaded by a stand of cedar on the site of an Austin blogger (now inactive, apparently.) It's just what I would like, but it's not possible to tell how much sun it's getting.

  • hybridsage
    13 years ago

    Whitecap:
    My S.regla has taken temps below 20 most of the forms
    that are grown in our area are the Jame form which Lynn Lowery collected years ago. I have grown S.regla "Jame" in the hillcountry during the freeze of 89 which was in the teens for a week. It had some tip die back but returned. I would also use the same limestone caliche soils for regal and romeriana.
    You can also try the S. guarnitica "Van Remsen form" it stays in one location . My Salvia microphylla "Cherry Cheif" has been in a shaded location for several years gets a few hours of late afternoon sun. Has maintained a nice compact habit and survived our temps without a problem.
    S. greggii can get leggy looking in to much shade. I have seen S x "Indigo Spires" in a shaded location
    but it too gets leggy without 6+ hours of direct sun as well.
    Art

  • whitecap
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Sounds like the Chief is more the size I'm looking for. Thanks.

  • wantonamara Z8 CenTex
    13 years ago

    My regla has come back from a 11 degree dip last year and it has green twigs after this extended cold snap, this year. I am not saying anything because lots of my agave's are continuing to look worse. And my vegetables are continuing their sinking, even the ones that had a lot of life to them.

  • whitecap
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    The Cherry Chief, set out just after my last post, has been a great success. It's now about knee high. The ratio of blooms to foliage is rather low, but the blooms are so bright they make quite a show. The cedar sage seems happy in its new, shadier location, and is blooming nicely. Be interesting to see if it again stops blooming when high temps arrive.

  • jenn
    12 years ago

    Several years ago, I stuck a cutting of S. regla in the unamended clay soil at the back of our house that faces northeast. This site gets bright shade in winter, and morning sun (until about 1PM) in summer. It has thrived there and still going strong. I tried this as an experiment -- nothing ventured, nothing gained.