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salvia nectar
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Posted by voodoobrew 9 Bay Area, CA (My Page) on Tue, Oct 6, 09 at 21:45
| A question on the hummingbird forum about "natural food" has got me wondering about the nectaries of salvias. Do they typically produce nectar often? I read that some flower species will stop producing once pollination is achieved. I have S. elegans and S. chiapensis at my kitchen window and I have seen the hummers hit them several times in a day. Is there much known about nectar production in salvias? I didn't find much on the web. I'm curious about % sugar, and speed of production. I think it would explain why the hummers preferentially hit only (I should say mainly) certain salvias in my garden. e.g. I have many S. leucantha plants, in full bloom now, and they barely touch the stuff. I guess I am trying to figure out which plants I need to focus on increasing. Plus, I am just plain interested [does that make me a nerd? LOL]. I guess that I should admit at this point of posting on these threads that I am a molecular biologist/ biochemist who is thinking of a career change to horticulture. :) |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: salvia nectar
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| It is possible to take a microcapillary tube, withdraw a sample of the nectar, ant place a droplet on a hand held refractometer. A conversion scale will give you the sugar concentration. While attending a plant sale in Baton Rouge, a grad student brought one and found that many of the sages had very high sugar content. Salvia flowers go through first a male stage, where they produce pollen, followed by a female stage, when they can receive it. This period lasts 2 - 4 days, and the flower produces nectar throughout. When the sperm from the pollen reaches the nutlets and fertilizes them, the flower falls off. |
RE: salvia nectar
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| I have lots of S. leucantha in bloom. This year it seemed like Rufous and Black-chins liked S. leucantha better in the afternoon and S. greggii better in the AM. Last year no one liked S.leucantha. But in the AM before I get the feeders full(Fruit bats), S. elegans is the most favored. Right now the Salvias are preferred over the feeders. |
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