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juneroses_gw

What did I plant?

The plant pictured below was labelled "Salvia - Brazil Purple". The flowers are definitely a royal purple. It's about 2' tall at the present and has already grown quite a bit since it came to live in my garden about 5 weeks ago. Initially I thought it was some type of guarantica but the foliage doesn't look like that of the Black and Blue. Any suggestions as to what it might be?

The leaf with the red arrow is about 3.5" x 3.5" in size. It's on a robust new stem that recently appeared.

Comments (6)

  • robinmi_gw
    12 years ago

    Lovely plant! Probably one of the many hybrids of guaranitica x gesneriiflora.....such as Purple Majesty, Jean's Purple Passion, Black Knight, or Betsy's Purple.

    You obviously have a young plant which is flowering well when still quite short, the above-mentioned can grow to 15 ft tall, where hardy, but will often flower very late in the year, just when the first frost will blacken the flowers.

    Watch out for Salvia 'Amistad'......a much shorter, compact, hybrid, which flowers for months, and is vastly superior to all of the above. This will hopefully be on sale...BIG TIME...in the USA next year.

    Robin.

  • juneroses Z9a Cntrl Fl
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks Robin. As the pictured plant continues to grow, I'll compare it with the info I find on the purples you named.

    Meanwhile, I learned of Amistad, and have seen pictures, at the Hummingbird Forum. I know I'm not the only one who will be looking for this beauty in spring. - June

  • hawkeye_wx
    12 years ago

    Robin, do the purple hybrids still have the distinct guaranitica odor when you rub the leaves?

  • robinmi_gw
    12 years ago

    No..........they seem to be odourless here.

  • rich_dufresne
    12 years ago

    A note on the guaranitica hybrids: Purple Majesty and Jean's Purple Passion are probably gesneriflora hybrids (I'm certain about Purple Majesty); Betsy's Choice is probably a cross with fulgens; and Black Knight with a form of splendens, or its vanhouttii variants.

    Annette and Robin, does anyone have any particular parent info on the latter? Has anyone confirmed that Wendy's Wish is a buchananii x splendens hybrid?

  • robinmi_gw
    12 years ago

    No confirmation re Wendy's Wish as yet. Of course, buchananii (is this REALLY a species?????), and splendens have been cited........but also has S. chiapensis! Three-way parent?

    Don't grow Black Knight or Jean's Purple Passion anymore....S. 'Amistad' is the purple Salvia of the future!!!! Pretty sure it has the same parentage as Purple Majesty......but 70% more guaranitica involved.....hence the very long flowering period.

    Hybrids keep occurring........GREAT....provided you are not only interested in species! Here, a huge Salvia showed up, 6 ft tall within a few months! Sure that S. viscosa is a parent.......flowers so small and identical except in colour, the hybrid has purple/violet flowers. Stems are 6 ft tall, (viscosa dropped seeds around), my thoughts of the other parent are forskaoelii or pratensis, both growing close by. After all that blurb, I admit that this hybrid is possibly rubbish!!!!Seems to be sterile also. I can get very excited about new hybrids.......but this one.........maybe not.

    Seed from S. dichlamys, in the garden in Argentina, has obviously crossed with something else (microphylla or darcyi)...huge magenta flowers, hairy......perhaps fulgens involved!

    Many rare Salvia seeds available if you contact me via www.robinssalvias.com .List should be complete in 2 weeks.

    Regards to all.

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