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 !!
November 2005
For those who look at my website, I thought I would
provide an update. Two Salvias which were named as S. simulans and S. gracilis
are now thought to be S. ionocalyx and S. carnea, respectively, though there is
still some doubt about the second one. This was collected in the Valle de Bravo
region of Mexico. I get tired of changing labels, but hopefully one day, I will
have them labelled correctly!
In the September newsletter, I moaned about the
fact that Salvia regla appeared to be flowerless this year. Well, it is now
flowering better than ever before, and below is a picture of it. The whole plant
is covered with huge red flowers, and luckily, we have not experienced any frost
so far. Even better news, none is forecast for the next week.
Salvia regla - 29th October 2005
Click to view larger
I also complained about S. amarissima dropping its
flowers at mid-day. Well, at this time of the year, it flowers profusely until
dusk. If not spectacular, it is indeed a beautiful shade of blue. Salvia
splendens 'Van Houttei' seems to have survived its violent attack by capsid
buds, and is now flowering well. I wonder why this never sets seed here, unlike
the other forms of S. splendens which I grow. Perhaps it is sterile...which
would indicate the possibility of this being a hybrid.
After being severely molested by red spider mite,
Salvia dombeyi has, at last, enormous red flowers in the greenhouse. This is
always a very difficult Salvia to grow. Untidy, unwieldy, prone to infestation,
it is nevertheless worthwhile persevering with, just to see the wonderful 4 inch
long flowers.
The unusually warm Autumn this year has meant that
the garden is more colourful with Salvias than at any time during the Summer.
There have been warm, sunny days, a fair amount of rain, and a couple of very
windy days. Old favourites such as S. 'Indigo Spires', S. uliginosa, S.
concolor, S. involucrata, S. confertiflora are excelling themselves this year.
S. 'Black Knight' is also terrific, but S. 'Jean's Purple Passion' is too tall
for its own good! S. gilliesii is a mass of blue, but too rampant! S. haenkei is
a bit disappointing, lanky, with not many flowers. S. madrensis is trying hard,
lots of buds about to open, this usually gets frosted before flowering. I will
be in Ireland for a few days, and pray that there will not be any frost before I
return, so that I can see my plant in flower for the first time!
My garden - 29th October 2005
Click to view larger
S.praeclara is a temperamental plant. It flowers within 3 months of sowing seed.
Then it gets attacked by mildew, and during mid-Summer, it hardly flowers at
all. Now it has recovered, and is over 6 ft. high, and smothered in blossom
again, without a hint of mildew. I have tried this in sun, shade, dry areas, wet
areas, and it seems to make no difference. But I adore it anyway! I have already
moved some plants into the greenhouse, and have buds on S. tubifera, and another
unknown Salvia...this might be a form of S. mexicana. As soon as flowers appear,
I will get them photographed and add them to the website. There should be a few
more pictures during the Winter months.
In September we had a 10 day vacation in
California, starting with two exceptionally chilly days in San Francisco. We
visited Strybing, but were slightly disappointed that there were not so
many Salvias as on a previous visit. I was pleased to see some large plants of
S. recurva, but I had better return later to see them in flower. (I have two
plants, both given to me as S. recurva, but they are not the same. Similar in
growth and habit, one has purple stems. One has some buds on it, so will have to
wait and see. Both plants are really too big for my greenhouse.) After Strybing,
we went to visit Ginny Hunt, and enjoyed her hospitality immensely. Her garden
is quite wonderful, lots of Salvias, and so many other unusual and beautiful
plants. Ginny kindly arranged a visit to Cabrillo College. I visited Cabrillo 3
years ago, and to say that I was impressed with the Salvia collection would be a
masterpiece of understatement.
At Cabrillo College
Click to view larger
However, this year, a new Salvia garden was to be
seen, and it was breathtaking! Divided into different areas from where the
Salvias originate, it was magnificent, educational, and at times very
annoying! Perhaps "frustrating" would be a better word than "annoying",
since, to be honest, I was just jealous! Jealous when I saw the beautiful
Californian species and hybrids in flower, because they will not flower in the
UK climate. Jealous to see S. iodantha 10 ft. tall, with buds, which will not
get frosted! Jealous to see S. madrensis in spectacular full-bloom! Jealous
about the Californian climate, and the seemingly unlimited space in the garden,
so that each species can be seen without having been molested by other species,
unlike in my garden, where over-crowding is a serious problem this year. I did
see one Salvia, forget which, that did seem unhealthy, and I was pleased to
announce that my specimen was twice as large, and was flowering profusely! That
went down like a lead balloon, so I bit my tongue. However, lying awake that
night, I had visions of ripping up all my Salvias on my return, and
concentrating on Marigolds, Petunias, and Pansies! That was just a panic attack,
luckily.
What made the day at Cabrillo extra-special was the
surprise visit by Betsy Clebsch. What a wonderful lady she is! I had met her 3
years ago and visited her sublime, and justly famous garden. Her Salvia books
are invaluable. Then another surprise visitor was John Rembetski, a devoted
Salvia enthusiast from Texas. We had been in contact for a couple of years, and
it was great to meet at last.
Sandi Martin's Garden
Click to view larger
After leaving Cabrillo, Ginny had arranged a
behind-the-scenes visit to the wholesale Suncrest Nursery, where a Mexican-style
barbecue was taking place. Fabulous food, and also fabulous Salvias! They have
some very beautiful and interesting new hybrids which will hopefully be
introduced soon. The following day, Ginny took us to visit Sandi Martin, who has
a huge garden up in the mountains near Watsonville. Her climate is so
warm, she grows bananas and avocados, along with many exotic plants, and a
huge number of Salvias.This is a private garden, which is lovingly cared for. It
is like visiting several different gardens, as they are sitiuated all round the
house. There was a long hedge of S. 'Phyllis' Fancy' which was spectacular.
Another amazing sight was S. lasiantha, 8 ft. high, and a mass of bright blue.
(I have had seeds from this species, the plants never grow more than 1 ft. tall
and have never flowered. So I was jealous again!) This was one of the most
beautiful private gardens that I have ever seen.
We needed to get away from Salvias and gardens at
this point, so finished our vacation touring the Yosemite National Park. This
was stunning. Scenery like nothing I have ever seen. (One highlight was
when a racoon ran through a restaurant, a lovely creature, I had never seen one
before.)
Thanks for taking the time to read
this, Regards to all Salviaphiles,
Robin
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