Hi Brent,

Yes, I was the one who posted about that triple hybrid, after seeing it at Cabrillo College. A winter bloomer that I wish they would propagate/ sell is S. sprucei.

Winter hybrids that I have, mostly from Strybing and UCBerkeley:

"Mr. Jules" = fulgens x holwayi, from UCSC and very nice!
"Marwin Gardens" = unknown C.C. cross, but looks like wagneriana x karwinskii to my eye
puberula x karwinskii
pulchella x karwinskii (nice, so far seems to be sterile)
westerae = orbignaei x haenkei
univerticillata x ?? = UCBerkeley hybrid
iodantha x tubiflora
"Luis Saso" is thought to be iodantha x tubifera
I have a plant called "involucrata x karwinskii", but I have my doubts. It does look a bit different than my karwinskiis (I have 3 types), but we shall see when in bloom.

S. mexicana could be a good choice for fall hybrids. Mine are all still in bloom.

I really like winter bloomers for feeding my resident Anna's hummingbirds. Others that I have which you might want to consider for hybrids are:
S. gesneraeflora (3 types). I have Raspberry Truffle, which is a gorgeous hybrid.
S. holwayi. GREAT hummer plant, very floriferous.
S. littae
S. collinsii (looks like I have 2 types: Strybing and Cabrillo College)
S. confertiflora
S. wagneriana (2 types, pink and white bract)
S. purpurea
S. curTiflora (? mine hasn't bloomed yet)
S. lavanduloides
S. lasiantha
S. myriantha
S. micrantha (not the one on Robin's site - I have Yucatan Sage from Strybing)

That's all I can think of at the moment... too much Xmas stuff on the mind. :)

Happy Holidays, everyone!
-Michelle

The native Calif. salvias are all closely related. You might try every possible combination and see if you get anything. In nature, S. apiana frequently hybridizes with S. mellifera, and S. apiana with S. clevelandii. I've seen both. Hybrids of S. clevelandii and S. leucophylla (their natural ranges are separate) are frequently sold as cultivars like "Allen Chickering" and "Pozo Blue," but most nursery plants sold as "Salvia clevelandii" are clearly hybrids or, at the very least, genetically contaminated. "Dara's Choice," from Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, is believed to be an inadvertant cross of S. mellifera and S. sonomensis. In a Calif. native-style garden situation, with close relatives planted side-by-side, hybridization is almost inevitable. There's a big S. apiana X clevelandii near the entrance of Las Pilitas's Escondido nursery. You might not realize it's not S. apiana until you see the flowers.

S. mexicana x miniata has been reported by Yucca-Do, but was not durable.

S. mexicana x involucrata has been discovered, then developed by Donna Dittman of St. Gabriel, LA - it prefers subtropics.

S. farinacea x longispicata Indigo Spires, of course.

There are supposed to be hybrids of S. farinacea with S. azurea.

S. involucrata (probably puberula form) with S. univerticillata (used to be S. pulchella) - mine is trying to bloom right now.

S. chamaedryoides x S. microphylla Christine Yeo and a form from Pat McNeal of Austin, TX

more later...

Brent: Glad to hear you made it thorugh the heavy Rains!
here are more hybrids...
nemerosa,superba and sylvestris
greggii x darcyi
darcyi x microphylla
leucantha x elegans ( winter flowering)
greggii x blepharophylla
guaranitica x guesneriiflora or guesneraeflora don't
know if they are syn. or misspellings?
Have fun!
Art