Lucky you! I got this Salvia from Annie's last year, but some critter destroyed the plant. I planted some sticks from the broken branches, now to see if any will take.

How big did yours get?

It is about 4 ft. tall currently, but I suspect that it will double in size by October. Only one stem is flowering, I think it will look great in late September.

Robin.

I will confirm that this plant originated in the old Salvia garden at Cabrillo College (the garden had to be moved to make way for a parking lot!) I believe it was thought to be a cross between S. gesneriiflora and S. guaranitica.

I'm sorry to report that Jean Coria, for whom this Salvia was named, died last November. She was the heart and soul of the "Salvia Department" at Strybing Arboretum, in San Francisco, for many years. I'm glad I was able to work with her...she is greatly missed!

It is a more robust version of Purple Majesty. I'd have to ask the Cabrillo folks which guaranitica and gesneriflora forms they think it is a cross of.

Betsy's Purple is a cross of a guaranitica with the S. cardinalis form of S. fulgens. If you see it in bloom, it has somewhat smaller flowers, blooms earlier, the spike has small bracts somewhat shaped like the prominent ones in S. fulgens, and it is not as tall and spreads more vertically like S. fulgens.

I should have said that I assume that Betsy's Purple is that cross. I would have to do some DNA work to test out my idea.