I Googled the name and did not come up with much of anything. There is a Rio Bambo in Ecuador associated with plant collection.

Where are you located and what nursery did you get it from?

I'd need to see a flower for this one.

Hi Richard,

I am in southern California. I bought it at the Potting Shed at the Fullerton Arboretum (in Fullerton, CA).

I'll look through all my plant photos and see if I have one of the plant in bloom. I believe the flowers are sky blue, not as deep as S. chamaedryoides, possibly periwinkle. If I find a picture, I'll post it. If not, I'll take one as soon as it blooms and post it here.

Jen

Richard, this isn't a very good photo but maybe it will help. It may be a while before it blooms again.

Click to enlarge....

Jen

I attended a plant sale yesterday where they were selling a large number of Salvias. This is the same place where I purchased 'Rio Bamba'. I spoke with one of the volunteers about my Rio Bamba purchase, and she said she's had one for at least 10 years. Hers grows in all-day sun and clay soil, and is at least 5 feet tall.

I'm surprised she's had it that long yet little seems to be known about it. Maybe I have another "mystery" Salvia. If I can get up the nerve, I'll move it to a sunnier spot but it's growing so nicely now I hate to disturb it. Maybe I'll take a cutting and "move" it that way instead. It would be a good experiment.

Richard: Do you recognize it from the last photo I posted above?

Jen

It sort of looks like salvia urica.

It definitely is not S. urica... I've grown that and it looked nothing like this plant.

Still trying to ID this Salvia, which I purchased in '06 at the Fullerton Arboretum. The label said 'Rio Bamba'.

This is another not-so-good photo, but there's a bloom that may be helpful. In this spot with sun until about 1:00 PM, it grows about 4-5 feet tall with lax stems. I have found 1 or 2 seedlings nearby.

Jenn,

This salvia that you have looks very similar to a unknown salvia that we have had at UCR for many years. We call it 'Curtis Blue' after the man that gave it to Giles Waines, the head of the UCRBG. The pictures are bad but the most recent one seems to be a match. I would have to see it a little better. The growth habit is the same. Full sun, drought tolerant. Blooms all year in riverside. Giles told me that he got it from a landscaper's garden in Riverside. The landscaper was a very well known and old business person. I dont have his name but could get it. But, we have had it for as long as i have been at UCR so more than 7-8 years. I have sent seed and plants to some people around the country and world recently. when the name is found, i will share it with you. But, currently it is unknown.

But, it makes sense that you have it. Steve Morgan of the UCRBG shares with other gardens. He is very nice.

Check out IMG2169 and 2170 and see if they look similar.

Brent

Here is a link that might be useful: 'curtis blue'

Brent - yes, that looks just like it! In the photo of the whole plant, it appears to be growing out in the open, and looks bushy with all the blooms at the top. Mine is a little more lax at the top, possibly because it gets some shade... just guessing there. I'd like to try one in all-day sun and see how it does there -- I have a seedling I could move to a sunny spot.

I'll try to sneak out early one morning and get some better shots before the daily breeze kicks up.

I have this salvia also...purchased as 'Rio Bamba' from the Fullerton Arboretum Potting Shed a couple of years ago. Mine is planted in full sun here in Fallbrook and is quite happy there.....

Jenn,

Your 'Rio Bamba' looks rather like Salvia flocculosa.

Brent,

Your 'Curtis Blue', if very aromatic, could possibly be S, keerlii or S. mellisadora. Then again, S. cuspidata subsp. gilliesii springs to mind.

I think you both have different plants. Foliage of 'Rio Bamba' seems much larger.

Robin.

Robin,

The flowers on mine are much more dense, too.

Were you able to germinate the seeds i sent you? Or are you waiting for warmer weather?

Brent

I will sow the seeds first week of March, normal time for me.

Robin.

I have flocculosa also and now that the Rio Bamba is taking off, the leaves are larger than those on the flocculosa.

I too grow S. flocculosa, and while I don't have "Rio Bamba", I agree that its leaves look significantly larger from Jenn's photo.

Here are a couple of better pictures of my mystery Salvia: