Very nice. That's one salvia I hope to acquire one day.

This new salvia is definitely drought tolerant, blooms starting early and keeps going all the way to frost. I grew it in a mixed bed with lantana, asclepias and other attractors of hummers and butterflies. I never once saw either on this salvia though they were on the other plants around it.
In the posting below that Rich started re S. oxyphora, Annette posted a link to some of her photos. One of them is of a S. splendens whose flowers are of a very similar color as Wendy's Wish. Didn't I read somewhere that S. splendens is one of the likely parents of this hybrid?

I've mentioned that WW is probably a hybrid of S. buchananii with a vanhouttei form of S. splendens, but others probably have also. I've had it for a while and see no reason to change that assessment.

I saw one at the J C Raulston Arboretum (NCSU in RAleigh, NC) that was about 5 feet tall a few weeks ago.

Interesting how confusion reigns over the hardiness of this plant. Some sources claim only zone 9-10, elsewhere it's rated to zone 7, and in a nursery on Cape Cod I saw it promoted as hardy to zone 5. I suspect z8-9 is the best most can expect; regardless, I have a few cutting-grown plants overwintering under lights and the parent plant in a cool garage where it hopefully will remain dormant over the winter.

I also have cuttings from this plant under lights overwintering inside and also have the parent in the garage in which I happen to have an in wall heater which I can control, but I do not have any light or window in this garage. So I keep the garage in the mid 40s.

I would be interested in hearing how other peoples WW would do without any heat at all.

I had one Wendy's Wish remain in the ground last winter that never reappeared in the spring. Several cuttings overwintered in my almost unheated greenhouse where the temperature may have reached or dropped just below freezing a few times. As I recall we had one day here in Raleigh last winter in which the temp outside dropped to near ten degrees, and a few days with lows in the upper teens. My guess is that WW is probably only reliably hardy in zone 9 and even then a light freeze will kill it to the ground.

I grew it in a mixed bed with lantana, asclepias ....

Based on that I'd say it likes heat and sun! I bought one and am researching the best spot for it now. In our neighborhood, I've seen it happily growing along a sidewalk in full-sun, so I'd think it would be happy in front of our short retaining wall in full sun. I'll report back on it later next year.

Ralph and Jenn

Thanks for your thoughts and input. It appears that some of my potted plants are faring well in my lightly heated garage with no light. These have been in there since early nov. So for your consideration.

wendy's wish

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cuphea micropetala-- OK a bit off topic maybe but I have never had any cupheas survive temps in my garage but this one seems hardier than others Ive tried, remember no lights.

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Current temp in garage-- this fluctuates some but outside temp is currently 23 degrees.

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Boy do I love this salvia. Based upon the recommendations in this forum, I bought the first one I saw at the end of February. I planted it the next day and in the past seven weeks, it has doubled in size with blooms shooting out all over.

Carol