I'm a little confused. Do you line in France or the United States? This makes a big difference, since international shipments of cuttings and plants is quite difficult. Seeds are getting that way also.

There are three barriers to easy shipment across international borders:

Permits -- hard to get. Also, do you have a nursery that meets phytosanitary regulation for international production?

Cost -- inspections are not cheap

Delays and mortality -- plants and cuttings will often die going through inspection, which includes fumigation. Seeds will often get crushed

See the personal email which I have just sent to you. I hope to have clarified the sending of seeds/cuttings, etc. I have sent you some before.

Robin.

I live in France, near Lyxembourg. I receive cuttings from USA since few years, send by Botanical Garden. In France, phytosanitary certificat doesn't exist, and only plants grown on a large scale requires such certificates, like fruit tree (Citrus, Malus...).

Uh, I recently sent some seeds of one of our local salvias to France, and they arrived safely. I just put them in a no.1 letter envelope and put that in a padded envelope I can't imagine that the recipient will successfully cultivate them and get them to flower in Normandy, but that's another issue.

What is tha name of this Salvia?

Are you asking me? S. carduacea. It's an annual with pretty specific requirements.

Yes I asking you ccroulet, sorry.
I have already seeds of this Salvia, but difficult to germinate.

I grew S. carduacea here, where they are native, in a large terra cotta pot. I used a commercial planting mix with a substantial amount of added sand. They grew to flowering, but the plants were stunted. Not once did I see any pollinators visit my S. carduacea, even though they were all over my S. mellifera nearby. If I do it again, I'll be very aggressive about culling. If I had the space, I would build a large mound for them, using mostly gravel but with a small amount of organic material. Some mulch or cover would be good to protect them when they first germinate. S. carduacea needs sun, lots of it. You can't give it too much sun. From what I've read about the climate of northern and eastern France (my ancestors came from Franche-Compte region), the climate is neither sunny enough nor warm enough for S. carduacea during their main period of growth. Maybe someone on Cote d'Azur or (better) the Andalusia region of Spain could grow it, but not Normandy or Burgandy. My reference for European climates is "World Weather Guide" by E. A. Pearce and Gordon Smith (The Times Books, London).

Salvia carduacea is actually very easy to germinate, if the seeds are soaked overnight with a smoke disc. Then the seeds will germinate in 48 hours. I use a gritty compost, and keep the seedlings in the greenhouse. They grow quickly to 18-24 inches tall, and flower profusely, for a short period. In small pots, they do need regular water. It is very cute Salvia....only problems I have with it are aphids, and the nasty thorns when collecting seed.

Obviously no visible pollinators in my greenhouse, but plenty of seeds are set.

So it should not be difficult in France, if grown under glass. You just need the smoke disc to aid germination.

Robin, how much space did you give them? In nature the rosette of leaves at the base can easily span much greater than 1 ft (30 cm). I actually think that's a substantial underestimate, but I don't have any plants to measure at this moment :) I simply scattered my seeds in the pot and let them grow, but they were too crowded. I didn't apply any treatment to the seeds, and I allowed them to grow outdoors on their own schedule. Good to know they can be successfully grown under proper conditions in Europe. A big patch of them is spectacular to the appreciative eye.

I transplanted 3 healthy seedlings into 4-5 inch pots. They soon became somewhat potbound, but gave a great display. Obviously nothing like the amazing display in the wild, but this Salvia is very special. See the photo on my site.

Robin, I looked at the S. carduacea on your website. That's the way they're supposed to look. Congratulations! I know you've complained in the past that you couldn't bring some of the Calif. sages to flower. I assumed -- wrongly -- that this applied to all of them. I hope the gentleman in Normandy (my map says he's in Picardy!) is reading this and will be encouraged to grow the seeds I sent to him. But I think he should wait until next spring.

Thanks for your advice Robin. But where could I find this smock disc? Could I sow the seeds this week?

You could try Seedhunt. As S. carduacea is an annual, I think it would be best to wait until March, no point sowing when the weather is cooling down.

Thanks!

I have read many interesting things here...
Now I know how to grow S.carduacea !
I am the person living in Normandy not in Picardy.
I have given some seeds of that Salvia to friends who are fool of Salvias. Waiting the next spring for sowing.
Thanks to Robin and ccroulet.

A friend of mine who lives in the Dordogne, sent me a link to a nursery that has interesting salvias. That yellow s. greggii 'Sungold' is truly yellow, per the photo. I like the salvia indica as well. Very nice!

Cameron

Here is a link that might be useful: Les Senters du Quercy

I used the wrong link....
Here's the entire list of salvias.

Salvia 'Allen Chickering'
Salvia 'Anthony Parker'
Salvia 'Bee's Bliss'
Salvia 'Christine Yeo'
Salvia 'Indigo Spires'
Salvia 'Mrs Beard'
Salvia 'Phyllis Fancy'
Salvia 'Purple Majesty'
Salvia 'Royal Bumble'
Salvia 'Serpyllifolia'
Salvia 'Silke's Dream'
Salvia absconditiflora
Salvia adenophora
Salvia aethiopis
Salvia amarissima
Salvia amplexicaulis
Salvia apiana
Salvia argentea
Salvia arizonica
Salvia aurea
Salvia barrelieri
Salvia blepharophylla
Salvia bracteata
Salvia broussonetti
Salvia buchananii
Salvia bullulata
Salvia caespitosa
Salvia canariensis
Salvia candelabrum
Salvia candidissima
Salvia canescens
Salvia caudata
Salvia chamaedryoides var. isochroma
Salvia chamelaeagnea
Salvia corrugata
Salvia cyanescens
Salvia cyanicalyx
Salvia deserta
Salvia desoleana
Salvia dichlamys
Salvia dichroantha
Salvia discolor
Salvia disermas
Salvia disjuncta
Salvia dominica
Salvia dorisiana
Salvia dorrii
Salvia eigii
Salvia elegans 'Scarlet Pineapple'
Salvia forreri
Salvia forskahlii
Salvia fruticosa
Salvia gesneriflora
Salvia glutinosa
Salvia graciliramulosa
Salvia greggii 'Alba'
Salvia greggii 'Desert Blaze'
Salvia greggii 'Peach'
Salvia greggii 'Rapsberry Royale'
Salvia greggii 'Sungold'
Salvia guadalajarensis
Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'
Salvia guaranitica 'Blue Enigma'
Salvia haenkei
Salvia heldreichiana
Salvia helianthemifolia
Salvia hierosolymitana
Salvia indica
Salvia interrupta
Salvia involucrata 'Mulberry Jam'
Salvia iodantha
Salvia judaica
Salvia juriscii
Salvia jurisicii 'fleur blanche'
Salvia jurisicii 'fleur rose'
Salvia karwinskii
Salvia lavandulifolia
Salvia lavandulifolia subsp. blancoana
Salvia lavandulifolia subsp. oxyodon
Salvia lavandulifolia subsp. pyrenaeorum
Salvia lavandulifolia subsp. vellerea
Salvia leucantha
Salvia leucantha 'Purple Velvet'
Salvia leucocephala
Salvia leucophylla
Salvia littae
Salvia longistyla
Salvia lycioides
Salvia lyrata 'Purple Knock Out'
Salvia macrophylla
Salvia madrensis
Salvia mellifera
Salvia mexicana
Salvia microphylla
Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips'
Salvia microphylla 'Maraschina'
Salvia microphylla 'Pink Blush'
Salvia microphylla 'Ribambelle'
Salvia microphylla 'Trewithen'
Salvia microphylla var. neurepia

Salvia milthiorrhiza
Salvia miniata
Salvia mohavensis
Salvia multicaulis
Salvia munzii
Salvia myriantha
Salvia namaensis
Salvia nemerosa 'Plumosa'
Salvia nilotica
Salvia nubicola
Salvia nutans
Salvia officinalis 'Albiflora'
Salvia officinalis 'Aurea'
Salvia officinalis 'Berggarten'
Salvia officinalis 'Crispa'
Salvia officinalis 'Grete Stölzle'
Salvia officinalis 'Icterina'
Salvia officinalis 'Nazareth'
Salvia officinalis 'Purpurascens'
Salvia officinalis 'Rosea'
Salvia officinalis 'Rotmühle'
Salvia officinalis 'Tricolor'
Salvia oxyphora
Salvia pachyphylla
Salvia patens 'Chilcombe'
Salvia pisidica
Salvia polystachya
Salvia pratensis
Salvia pratensis 'Rose Rapsody'
Salvia pratensis 'Swan lake'
Salvia pratensis 'Twilight Serenade'
Salvia procurrens
Salvia przewalskii
Salvia radula
Salvia razaniana
Salvia recognita
Salvia repens
Salvia roscida
Salvia rubescens
Salvia rypara
Salvia sclarea
Salvia sclarea 'Vatican White'
Salvia sclarea var. turkestanica
Salvia semiatrata
Salvia sessei
Salvia setulosa
Salvia somaliensis
Salvia sprucei
Salvia stenophylla
Salvia stolonifera
Salvia sylvestris 'Amethyst'
Salvia sylvestris 'Blauhügel'
Salvia sylvestris 'Caradonna'
Salvia sylvestris 'Mainacht'
Salvia sylvestris 'Ostfriesland'
Salvia sylvestris 'Schneehügel'
Salvia sylvestris 'Tanzerin'
Salvia sylvestris 'Viola Klose'
Salvia taraxacifolia
Salvia thymoides
Salvia tingitana
Salvia tomentosa
Salvia tortuosa
Salvia transsylvanica
Salvia tubiflora
Salvia uliginosa
Salvia urica
Salvia verbenaca
Salvia verticillata
Salvia verticillata 'Alba'
Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain'
Salvia virgata
Salvia x jamensis 'La Siesta'
Salvia x jamensis 'Sierra San Antonio'
Salvia x superba 'Rosakonigin'

Here is a link that might be useful: list of salvias

i am willing to send and trade. Never sent anything that far, but willing to try. email me for my list. with anyone who wants to on this thread. I want some of your salvias wonbyherwits. Can we make some trades?

The list I provided is from Les Senters du Quercy nursery in France (not my garden!).

Cameron