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Floppy Salvia
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Posted by bigbrownthumb z6 (detroit area) (My Page) on Tue, Jun 24, 08 at 23:31
| I have a salvia plant that just flops "open" (spreads out and lays on the ground). You can tell by my name I know NOTHING. I bought the plant last spring, I think, and I don't think I have the tag for it. Usually I stick it in the ground with the plant but my husband, who knows nothing also, sometimes thinks it's garbage and throws it out.
In any case, after researching a perennial catalog, it looks a lot like "May Night." It would be 18"-24" if it stood up. It seems like I see other people have the same plants but theirs stand up. Did I not bury it deep enough? Also, I don't remember trimming it back last fall but I seem to remember it behaved the same last summer. It's gotten pretty huge and otherwise looks healthy so it seems like it's lying down under it's own weight.
In the meantime, I loosely tied a shoelace around the bush to stand it up LOL. I can send photos tomorrow if need be. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Floppy Salvia
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| Photos would be nice. If the plant is badly wilted, it is probably a root problem (too much or too little water). If it is not wilted, then it sounds like too much shade and/or too much heat. |
RE: Floppy Salvia
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| A number of Salvias do this. It helps to prune them back several times in the Spring to make them bushier; it delays blooming a bit, but it might solve your problem. |
RE: Floppy Salvia
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| I have no idea how to attach a photo here. The other really neat thing about this site is that it is NOT sending me emails when people reply. |
RE: Floppy Salvia
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| hopefully this works [IMG]http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn424/venisonfajitas/floppysage3.jpg[/IMG] |
RE: Floppy Salvia
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| Remember, you can preview your message to see if the photos come out right. To use a photo in Photobucket, use the third item down, the one that says "HTML code." Just copy and paste the entire line of html data into your message, then use preview to see if it's what you want. |
RE: Floppy Salvia
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- Posted by youreit z9b CA Sunset z8-9 (My Page) on
Fri, Jul 4, 08 at 9:21
| Here you go, BBT. :) 
Brenda |
RE: Floppy Salvia
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| What are the gray constructs above and below the plants? Could this be a wall in the back? If so, this is a microclimate that would collect heat and cause the growth to be abnormally leggy. Even if this is some sort of ground cloth, the area around it might be abnormally hot for the few inches just above the surface, especially if there are no breezes. |
RE: Floppy Salvia
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| Thanks everyone for the photobucket and plant advice. Yes, that is a cinderblock wall behind the plant and my concrete driveway "below" the plant. I see what you're saying about the heat but, I don't know about you guys, we've had an unseasonably cool summer and this guy is always lying down. This is on the east side of my house so it mainly gets morning sun. From what I'm reading, I think I'm going to move the plant to my front yard. It will be in the sunniest spot I have and not surrounded by so much concrete. Do you see what I'm saying, though, about how it looks healthy otherwise? I mean, nothing is eating it, it's not turning yellow or brown or looking wilted or anything. I guess I just picked a bad spot for it. Should I wait until end of summer to transplant it? I wonder how long it will take to perk back up... In any case, I've pretty much decided to do more with the little area that's in the photo. Thinking about building it up with a fieldstone border and finding some kind of ground cover that will grow between the field stones. It would have to be able to take the heat, though. |
RE: Floppy Salvia
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| Hi, My original Salvia is doing the same thing. I did divide it last year and the division plant is gorgious, but the old plant is like yours flopped and didn't bloom much. Maybe needs to be divided. |
RE: Floppy Salvia
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| Hi BBT, I have a similar-looking Salvia that does the same kind of thing for three reasons: 1) it doesn't get quite enough sun 2) the soil is too rich 3) that particular type of salvia is more prone to "opening up" like that Solutions: 1) try a spot with more sun 2) create a more "lean" soil by adding coarse sand to the area 3) choose a type of salvia that is less likely to flop like 'Caradonna' or 'Lubecca' They're both really awesome and they bloom a lot longer than the one in your picture! Another thing I do is to place 1-foot or slightly longer stakes in the ground criss-crossing and around the plant. It forms a bunch of XXXXXX's with the tops and the bottoms of each X crossing the adjacent X's. Another thing I do is to simply wait until the salvia has pretty much finished blooming and then cut it all the way down to the ground. It takes a little while for the new growth to come up, but it sure looks great when it does ... and so do the new blooms! I hope this helps! Steve |
RE: Floppy Salvia
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| I have the same problem. The two May Night purples in this pic are 3 yrs old and the white is 2 yrs old. The older purples flopped more although the white is starting to do the same thing. I am going to try to split them. Is it better to split them in the spring or fall? Thanks... |
Here is a link that might be useful: Meadow Sage Flopped
RE: Floppy Salvia
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| I divided mine last spring and it bloomed very nicely this year. |
RE: Floppy Salvia
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| I have salvia caradonna. How do I divide them, and can I move them this time of year, or would it be better to wait till fall? |
RE: Floppy Salvia
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| So from what I'm reading, it is okay to cut them back for awhile initally. I have several and they all flop pretty much! |
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