An occasional report on all things Salvia !!!
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My previous reports are stored HERE
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Starting with that all important thing - the weather !!
SALVIAS IN THE UK, 2006
August 2006
It has not been a normal summer this year. After an extremely cold winter, with temperatures dipping to -10 degrees C, (-14F), we had
a cold and dull spring, and hardly any rain. A state of drought was declared in South-East England, where I live, and a hose-pipe ban
was enforced. I therefore hoped that we would have sufficient rainfall in summer, but my hopes were shattered when we had the hottest
July since records began. Constant sunshine, and temperatures up to 36 degrees C (97F). This meant that up to 3 hours each day was
spent watering from a can. The biceps on my right arm prove this! August, so far, has been much cooler, and we have had some welcome
rain, though tropical-style storms with hail were not really helpful.
My Salvias have reacted to the unusual weather in various ways. For many it has been a struggle, especially when they were so late to
sprout after the cold winter and spring, whereas other species have performed well. Many of the winter-dormant species did not show new
growth until June, a month later than usual. Then they got scorched by the blazing sunshine. The garden was looking very sad throughout
July, and I had dark thoughts about ripping out all the Salvias and planting Cacti. Now almost everything has picked up, and there is
more colour to be seen every day. Salvias which were not affected by the heat are S. darcyi, S. atrocyanea, S. oxyphora, and now all
forms of S. guaranitica are flowering well, albeit a month late. Salvia meyeri is also in full bloom. An outstanding success has been
S. involucrata 'Joan', an Australian hybrid. It is totally hardy, which is a bonus. I wish I knew the exact parentage of this plant.
I feel that S. microphylla must be involved.
Salvia greggii cultivars - August 2006
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The Chinese Salvias were not bothered by the weather, and the dry winter encouraged them to flower well, in particular S. castanea,
S. digitaloides, a pale blue form of S. dolichantha (known here as 'Out of the Mist'), and S. omeiana. These have all needed daily
watering in the summer. I did lose S. evansiana, however. It survived the winter, and was sprouting well, then it just passed away!
Salvias from Turkey and the Middle East have been excellent. I kept them in pots in the greenhouse, as they hate water on the leaves.
The following species were particularly good: S. albimaculata, S. cyanescens, S. multicaulis, S. pisidica and S. caespitosa. I just
wish they had a longer flowering period. The only casualty was S. montbrettii, every year I succeed in killing this one.
The disappointments this year include S. fulgens, which is only now thinking about putting on a show. The large splendens are also
very slow to flower, which is annoying as they take up so much space. S. dombeyi, S. concolor, and S. involucrata have been devastated
by spider-mite. I do not like using chemicals, but I have had no option this year. They do seem to be recovering at last. The
greggii/microphylla types were damaged by the heavy frosts, but most of them recovered. They were all flowering in July, but looked
very sad, as the sun caused the flowers to wilt. However, they are enjoying the cooler weather, and the flowers are twice as big. In
past years, S. microphylla 'Hot Lips' has reverted to plain white in mid-summer. This year, it has remained bi-coloured throughout,
which has given me much pleasure.
Salvia flowers - August 2006
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Some new species I have acquired this year are S. hydrangea, S. funerea, S. heerii, and S. chienii. It has been a struggle keeping
S. hydrangea alive, and it will not flower until next year. I never expected seeds of S. funerea to germinate, let alone flower
within 3 months! This is known as the 'Death Valley Sage'. Probably the temperature in my greenhouse was approaching that of Death
Valley. Having seen superb pictures of this on the web, I was peeved to find that the flowers are miniscule. S. heerii is a red,
winter-flowering species from Peru. I have not seen it flower yet. It will probably grow very tall. S. chienii is a pretty little
Chinese species, with pinky-white flowers and purple foliage. I was also given an un-named species (or it could be a hybrid) from
Ecuador. This is intriguing. The large leaves are sword-shaped and resemble those of S. sagittata and S.macrophylla. But the
undersides of the leaves are purple. Flower buds are appearing, and do not resemble those of the species just mentioned. It seems
that the flowers will be a very deep blue. It is always exciting when a new Salvia is about to flower. I hope it will not be disappointing.
Another new species, seeds of which were kindly sent to me by Nancy Newfield, is S. subrotunda. This was slow to germinate, and I
had no idea how this Brazilian species would perform here. Well, it started to flower in late June, and with plentiful watering, it
has been successful. It does resemble S. coccinea, but it is more robust. Like many Salvias, it looks better in the morning, as flowers
tend to drop off during the afternoon, especially in hot, sunny weather. I suspect that this one might seed around. It certainly does
not need hummingbirds to pollinate it.
My greenhouse is now full of cuttings, as I will have to throw out some of the larger plants which are too big. I am also discarding
a few winter-flowering species which cause frustration when they refuse to flower. These include S. sessei, S. sprucei, and S. recurva.
I will not bother to grow S. longistyla or S. cinnabarina any more, as these also take up too much space, and never flower well here.
Meanwhile, we are all hoping for good weather in September, when most of the Salvias should be at their best.
I will continue to add pictures to the site, when they become available. But there are not many more Salvias in cultivation that do
not already appear. Neither is it helpful when new Salvias have decided not to flower, either because of the weird weather.....or
because I have not planted them in suitable areas.
Kind regards to all Salvia-lovers, around the world,
Robin
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