'may night', apiana, argentea, azurea var. grandiflora, coccinea x 4, farinacea 'henry duelburg', glutinosa, mexicana 'limelight', microphylla 'maraschino', miniata, napifolia, officinalis x 3, patens, pratensis 'swan lake', roemeriana, sagittata, sclarea, sclarea var. turkistanica alba 'mojito', splendens x 3, superba 'rose queen', transylvanica 'blue spires', van houtii, verticillata 'purple rain' & virgata!
Do I need to dig up s. glutinosa? I've seen conflicting information regarding hardiness.

jaynine , you have mostly hardy plants in your beds, but a few tender ones. How do you keep them over the winter?

My family in zone 5 western Massachusetts can grow the west Texas form of Salvia reptans and S. greggii x `Plum Wine' as hardy perennials. They have made it for the past three winters.

rich, i'm not answering for jaynine, but we get cold here too -- a foot or so of snow or hard frost every winter that typically stays on the ground for a month or so. for my tender salvias, I mound up soil around the root ball and cover the plant with a growers pot.

i'm growing:

S. africana-caerulea
S. canariensis
s. greggii (several)
s. azurea
s. chiapensis
s. guaranitica
perovsia (is this *really* a salvia?)
s. elegans
s. east friesland

that's all that i can recall from memory

I have recently added a lot more salvias, in an effort to keep my hummingbirds over winter. Will be adding more, now that I've learned which bloom in winter here... please pardon any spelling mishaps:

confertiflora
gesneriflora "Tequila"
karwinskii
forskaohlei
regla
roemeriana
azurea
patens
blepharophylla
clevelandii
elegans
chameleagnus
spathacea
chiapensis
iodantha
leucantha
"Bee's Bliss"
"May Night"
"Hot Lips"
nemorosa "Caradonna"
lyrata "Purple Knockout"
cocinnea "Lady in Red"
microphylla "Pink"
greggii "Red" and "San Antonio"
probably a few more that I missed...

have seeds of:
transsylvanica
"Blue Bedder"
semiatrata
mex. "Limelight"
guaranitica (I think)
some more that I collected here & there and have no clue which they are...

nice list voodoobrew! I so want to grow limelight, but it just gets too cold here for that one.

rich, many of the salvias i'm growing came from you and are strong, beautiful, robust plants now.

Rich~
Most of these tenders are first year plants: some that have bloomed I'll be taking cuttings of, including the S. guaranitica, 'Black & Blue' & 'Purple Spires' and s. elegans (hasn't bloomed yet--might not have time) that I missed on my first list! Some I've collected seeds to sow next year. Those that haven't bloomed will be dug up, put in the greenhouse & hopefully replanted next year. Some may just get heavily mulched.
S. reptans is on my salvia-to-grow wishlist (along with hundreds of others, of course). Looking at everyone's lists makes me yearn for spring already.
Does anyone have S. madrensis or africana lutea? Just curious to know if they are as beautiful in person as in pictures I've seen.

Another question--I'm growing lavender colored s. coccinea from seed received in trade. Does anyone know where this came from? I had never heard of it or seen it before joining GW.

jaynine, i have it. mine hasn't bloomed yet, but the foliage is gorgeous.

jaynine:
I have grown Salvia madrensis the plant blooms very late here (november) one takes the risk of it getting hit in freeze.I have bloomed them in cold frames before (In the winter).You will need a greenhouse to bloom madrensis.
I don't have S. africana "Lutea". The lavender form
of S.coccinea is a pretty weak plant at least for us down south. Other cultivars are much more vigorous and don't know the origin of the lavender form.
Art

Like you, Joyce, the foliage of my lavender coccinea is beautiful. It didn't start blooming until just 2 weeks ago. The first spike produced one flower--all other buds never swelled. Second one had a couple flowers. Right now it seems I might get a decent show before frost. I hope so; the flower color is extremely pretty.
Art~I've got the greenhouse, just need the madrensis! Is the color vibrant or washed out as some yellows can be?

I believe the lavender version came from Louisiana, but I only suspect who's garden it comes from so I won't say. The person sent me seeds maybe 6 years ago but they never made it into the garden and that was probably because of a few growers comments - things like Art is saying.

My list is somewhat short this year because most of my efforts have been with seedling greggii and microphylla - the fun of something new. I will forget a few but here goes: guaranitica Van Remsen, Black & White, Brazil, Argentina Skies and Blue Ensign; involucrata unknown cultivar, macrophylla, splenden Yvonne's, Mulberry Jam, melissodora, subrotunda, coccinea, chiapensis, uliginosa, buchannanii, miniata, Dislamys (sp?), exerta, and some 20 or so types of greggii, microphylla and hybrids selected mostly for hardiness.

Many seedlings of greggii and microphylla have come into bloom, between one and two dozen. Most are no better than what is already offered on the market, but a few might be worth a long-term study. There is a cross between California Sunset and Lipstick with a coral colored flower. Maybe it will be more vigorous than most of the yellowish cultivars that I have tried and perhaps hardier. There is a seedling of greggii Texas White that may have crossed with a greggii Big Pink from a hundred feet down the row. It has a huge and vivid red flower and a black calyx, is about the size of Big Pink, and to my mind it has a better flower shape. So far it is the exciting surviving seedling of 2008 and cuttings were taken over the weekend. That one will be passed to friends to see what they think. There is also a 2008 white seedling of greggii Wild Thing with a lovely flower which only seems to grow about a foot tall.

greggii:

Diane
Texas Wedding
Dark Dancer
Autumn Sage (deep pink)
Navajo (Bright?) Red
Cherry Queen
Dark Purple (is it Navajo? low grower around 14" high)

leucantha (labeled as emerald sage, dwarf form, purple - from BB in Sanford)

S. Balsalmisp 'Mystic Spires' (first year, haven't wintered yet)

S. longispicata x S. farinacea 'Indigo Spires' (first year, haven't wintered yet)

guaranitica: Black & Blue

nemorosa: Caradonna, Marcus

S. guaranitica x S. gesneraeflora 'Purple Majesty' (wintered over 1 year, but hasn't bloomed due to stem breakage by roaming deer herds)

uliginosa (bog sage - wish it came in more colors!)

jaynine, the lavender salvia coccinea originated in Susans garden in Florida and also in a botanical garden in FL. I wanted to give her credit and sure hope she didn't mind me sharing it with a few garderers. Last year it grew to 5 ft for me. This year the weather has kept it short but I still love the color.

I'm also growing salvia mexicanas, madrensis, regla, microphillas, red & pink coccineas, iodanthas, blue chiquita, greggiis, salvia pauciserrata and a few others I can't remember the names of.

you know, all of the responses to this thread have made me think of another question -- i grow so many salvias in the hope that i would always have one blooming. unfortnately it doesn't always work out that way. i actually have several that have never bloomed (probably not enough sun). so new question -- which ones do you grow for which season (spring to fall)?

joyce

janine:
For me the color is a pastel yellow (Darker than S.greggii
"Moonlight").Plant Delights Nursery Has a good picture of
S.madrensis.
I grow :
S.miniata
S.coccinea species,Coral Nymph,Lady in Red,Forest Fire,White Nymph
S.farinacea 8 Different forms
S.scabra
S.greggii To many to list
S.microphylla To many to list
greggii x microphylla To many to list
greggii x lycioides Pastel Purple,Rose Pink Bright,Rose and
some unamed forms
S.lycioides "Guadalupe mtn." Form
S.regla "Jame Form"
S. lyrata
S.guaranitica Black & Blue,Argentine Skies
S.caudata
S. guarnitica x gesn. "Purple Magesty"
S. farinacea x long. Indigo Spires, Mystic Spires
S. microphylla x darcyi "Silkes Dream"
S. greggii x karwin. "Riverside"
S. penstemonoides
S. splendens " Sizzler Series","Sparkler series".
S. vanhouttei Dancing Flames,Burgandy
S. elegans "Golden Delicious"
S. azurea var. Pitcheri
S. mexicana Limelight,Lollie Jackson
S. leucantha Midnight,Santa Barbara,Bicolor
S. madrensis
S. hispanica
S. involucrata
S. gravida
S. melissodora
S. macrophylla "Tingo Blue"
and a few others I can't remember right now.
Art

Wow Art,

i'm jealous of your S. gravida! where'd you get it?????

I have
S. madrensis,
S. chiquita,
S black and Blue
S. MacrophyllaTingo blue
S scabra,
s, juriscii
S argentina skies,
S. darcyii,
s. Englemanii
S. regla
S. Texana
S . macrophylla trinadad
s. greggii, (Red velvet, violet, perfectly pink, coral, and a few others
S. friend of Silke
S. reptans
S bee's bliss,
s. clevandii
S. invulcrata,
S. roemeriana
S penstemonoidews
S coccinea (red, white and coral nymph)
S . purple magesty
S farinacea (wild form, augusta and Henry Duelberg)
Salvia lyrata, S. lyrata puple knockout
Salvia auria var grandiflora and one collected from Bosque county that is different
I hada Salvia from Israel that I killed this summer
S. chamadriodes
S. reptans (west texas form)
S. macrophylla hot lips
S leucantha and S leucantha midnight
S officionales biergarten
S.chionophylla
S melissadora
and some, I just don't know their names.
I do think I killed the S . Mac. trinidad with the texas heat wave. I am amazed I am not dead and shriveled.

OOPs , I guess I can't go back and edit what I just wrote. That was S. Azuria not aruria. My Z doesn't work. I have to misspell a word with Z, and sometimes I forget.. I also forgot my S mexican limelight and Lolly Jackson

lots of good and interesting salvias here -- wish i could visit all of your gardens :)

wantonamara, would you post a pix of your penstemonoidews?

joyce

DEar Joyce, that was a case of fat fingered typing. I am a sloppy speller and Queen of the malaprop. "Penstemonoides". Mine is past blooming and looks not so good this year. I am still finding the right place for it in my new garden.. Art and I are both in the Austin area but our growing requirements couldn't be more different. I have to work really hard to get some of the rich ground loving , humid lovers to work out here on my hill of limestone rubble.

jxa44:
A friend here in Austin rooted cuttings from his garden
(it is downtown where it is much warmer).I will have to
bring it in this winter and see if I can get it to bloom.
I am afaid his may have died during this drought.
We can try to get some cuttings going this fall.
Art

Lets see if I can recall all mine:

semiatrata
transsylvanica
hians
forskaholii
barrelieri
'Blue Hill'
canariensis
chiapensis
leucantha
'indigo spires'
gregii
argentia
ulignosa
clevelandii

And the ones I am wanting:
Salvia 'Jean's Purple Passion'
Salvia daghestanica
salvia heldreichiana

Does anyone grow Salvia in zone 4 or 5?

Every Salvia plant I see looks ragged by the end of August. Therefore I don't have any salvia.

Veronica Speedwell is much preferred as the foilage stays lustrous through October...and reblooms in September.

Any varieties that may be superior to the commmon May Night that I see everywhere?

Salvia juriscii is hardy to one 4- 8. It might be a substitute for the common maynight. I wouldn't know about may night because I never see it here in Austin.
http://www.highcountrygardens.com/catalog/product/84745/

I had one that I started from seed. Not sure exactly what variety, but it sure did look good on the envelope. I sowed the whole pack but alas only one decided to germinate.

I watched it develop the entire summer until last week I discovered that the leaves were starting to brown over. Upon futher investigation, I found out that ants had invaded the pot from the bottom. It eventually died.

I love the look of Salvia, but am not sure I will ever start them from seed again. Took a long time for the one I had to germinate and then to be so disappointed.

Rather than just a list of plants, here are a couple of pics of part of my front garden, crammed predominantly with Salvias.

No prizes for naming them all (there are about 70 to 80 different species/varieties of Salvias in the front garden) but any suggestions how to find room to add another plant would be welcome!

Wow, and merry old England to boot. The hummingbirds here in Arizona would be eating well.

david

wow jimcrick! that's an awesome garden! and it looks like a hummingbird's paradise too ;) where in the country are you?

joyce

Yes, great pictures!!

For those wanting to increase their salvia supply, Mountain Valley Growers is having a fall sale which ends tomorrow. $2 per plant, and they have many salvia varieties. Shipping was cheap, compared to other companies!

http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/

Hi Joyce

I garden in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.

Not ideal for winter flowering salvias but I don't mind. I've got used to having to take hundreds of cuttings to see the less hardy salvias through each winter. I actually look forward to the seasonal changes in the garden. In 4-5 months time the garden will just be mostly crocus & galanthus followed by helleborus, tulips & narcissus.

Jim

Wow jimcrick, i'm jealous! i can't grow bulbs in my neck of the woods (literally woods) -- too darned many voles :(

Thank you everyone for your contributions -- this has been a really fun thread for me. many of you have some very interesting and beautiful salvias in your gardens. next time, should we all post pix like jimcrick?

again, many thanx -- i've spent hours googling many of the salvias mentioned :)

joyce

Thanks to the $2 sale at Mountain Valley Growers (which has been extended, btw!) and a very nice GW trader, I have added some salvias, bringing my total to about 45 varieties. I think I have officially run out of space in my garden! LOL

Salvia lavandulifolia (Spanish Sage)
Salvia greggii x lemmonii (Raspberry Royal)
Salvia grahammii (Maraschino Cherry Salvia)
Salvia canariensis (Canary Island Sage)
Salvia brandegii (Island Black Sage)
Salvia aurea (24kt Gold Sage)
Salvia greggii cv. (Variegated Autumn Sage)
Salvia microphylla (Wild Watermelon)
Salvia sclarea (Clary Sage)
Salvia buchanni (Velvet Sage)
Salvia muelleri (Royal Purple Sage)
Salvia uliginosa (Bog Sage)
Salvia fruticosa (Greek Sage)
Salvia mellifera (Black Sage)
Salvia discolor (Andean Silver Leaf)
Salvia melissodora (Grape Scented Sage)
Salvia involucrata
Salvia darcyi
Salvia madrensis

Jim's photos are great!!! I can vouch that he has the most beautiful garden, and a wonderful knack with plant combinations. Luckily we only live just over an hour apart!

Robin.