Perennial Salvia unknown species/cultivar

I picked up a perennial salvia on a clearance rack a couple of seasons ago and coaxed it through the end of season. It came back in the spring with a woody stem and a very wide open and fairly tall habit.

When I remove spent flower spikes the scent is incredible! It has a deep pink flower. It is not S. coccinea. Hummers love it.

I wonder how to propagate a woody perennial like this. I'm a newbie at propagation, but so far this summer I've had limited success with oakleaf hydrangea, mock orange, and chrysanthemums (talking woody plants here).

Thoughts?

A.

p.s. Sorry I can't give you a species or cultivar!

I thought mums were fool proof. What are you doing to propagate?

I have a very tall perinnel Salvia with purple blooms. Blooms all summer. Right now it's about 4' tall. I hate cutting it, but it does have a wide spread. I don't remember the name though.

Would love to see a pink Salvia. I had not idea there were other colors.

By limited success I mean that I have tried a bunch of woody plants this year and those are the ones I have been able to root.

This plant is open and sort of leggy. Not because of any leaf drop either. Just trying to see if there's any secret tip to propagating.

Thanks. :)

A.

Hummmmm.
I've gotten from the public library this book that was definitely a help for me. Give it a try.

American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation
Alan Toogood editor-in-chief


There is another propagation book by Miranda Smith that I am requesting. She seems to give more information that most don't give on propagating.

This message was edited Aug 14, 2011 3:31 PM

It should propagate just like other salvias. I would stick a few cuttings in soil and maybe try 1 or 2 in water. One of those ways should be bound to work.
You can also jelly roll the cuttings with sphagnum moss and plastic, but they don't seem to do so well for me that way.

I bet the jelly roll would work with coreopis that don't propagate very well for me.. Good suggestion.

Peg, what kinds of coreopsis are you growing? Mine spread and reseed everywhere.

Mine are the solid yellow color. The plantlet appears on the stalk after the flowers end. I have never been able to collect viable seeds.
Not sure of the name but will research it.

It maybe the Bigflower Coreopsis grandiflor.

Peg, I have a zillion of those and they reseed everywhere. I quit collecting the seeds because I had so many. I will be happy to share if you want some.
Linda

Thanks for the offer, but I have enough.

Based on a "placard" book about Salvia that he wrote, Richard F. Dufresne would be my suggestion for knowing everything about Salvia identification. (DG screen name "Rich_dufresne").

He sometimes goes to the DG forum "Agastaches and Salvias" http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/salvias/all/

Starting a thread there, with a photo, or in the Plant ID forum, might get some suggestions for an ID and particular propagation tips.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/plantid/all/

>> Would love to see a pink Salvia.

PlantFiles has pics of these:
Salvia coccinea "Coral Nymph"
Salvia viridis 'Marble Arch Rose'

Corey


Corey

Corey - I have the coral pink - it was a gift from a neighbor. It is a beautiful light pink with a darker pink center. It is an annual plant and is very generous with volunteers.

I suppose I could post a photo. I'm not very concerned about ID. I would just like to have more of them. :)

Thanks for the info.

A.

Rick, I may have some seeds for the salvia coccinea coral nymph, I will have to check. If i have some, you would be welcome to them.

Lin

Lin,

Thanks very much, but I just checked my "Salvia" jar. They were so pretty that I asked more than one person last year, so I still have some from LeBug, and from Jonna.

I have two survivors this year, and I plan to mulch after weather gets cold. I'm in Zone 8, so the roots MIGHT overwinter. If I pull the mulch off in early spring, and don't rake that spot, the plants' self-sown seeds might come up despite my needing to add compost.

And I plan to start a few more inside in case they don't - those ARE pretty!

BTW, I also have some S. coccinea "Lady in Red" that made it from my sprouting trays into the garden this year. Mine are small and sparse, but pretty!

Corey

Here's a group photo. :)

There's some Victoria Blue, the Coral Nymph, and the mysterious deep pink salvia. If the color comes through and you think it's red, trust me. I had a red salvia next to this one last season and it did not survive the winter.

Thanks for your thoughts. Don't have a burning desire to have an ID, just someone said they would love to see pink salvia. :)

Enjoy!

A.

p.s. can provide close ups if you want more detail.

Ha ha - I found a plant tag in the ground near the mystery salvia.

It says Mesa Rose Salvia hybrid.

I don't know if it's for this one or the red one that expired. This post was about propagation, however, so I'm still trying to figure that part out. Would like to have a couple more of these to spread throughout the bed.

A.

Amanda, if you want to root it, check real close to the stems. Sometimes the salvias will put out adventitious roots there.

I haven't seen Mesa Rose. if it blooms, post a picture.
Lin

The picture of what I believe to me Mesa Rose is above, mixed in with the Victoria Blue and Coral Nymph. It's dark pink/rose colored, not red.

The bloom looks like one on a salvia microphylla, but the leaves do not. That is very pretty.

I really love the color. It tends to do better when I water it daily. Go figure.

Thanks for the thoughts on propagating. If I get it right maybe I can send you some starts. Although it gets tall and leggy, I could clip it anywhere and there are new leaves waiting at any joint to bust out and get shrubby. It is hanging over the walkway so I will start there with my cuttings and let you know how it goes. ;)

A.

With my salvia greggi, I've found layering works like a champ. Just take a lower branch, lay it over, weight it down, then cover it with soil. If your salvia is getty leggy, trim it back. My sister-in-law swears that you should cut them back hard, but I think it depends on what size you want them to be. I've found mine fill out with a good cut back every now and then. They bloom on new growth

Question about Salvia 'Black and Blue'. Got it just this year and planted it in a pot. It definitely won't winter over here so I was going to bring it in over the winter. I guess I could also take cuttings as well if that would work with this variety. Does anyone know?

I asked this very question 2 seasons ago.

I was advised to take my plants inside over winter and to let them go dormant naturally. I watered them sparingly and leaves fell away. In the spring I was very happy when new shoots came up! I will try to find that thread and post the link here.

A.

Edited to say that the advice about overwintering black and blue salvia was actually in a dmail to me. My fellow DGr said:


"The indoor salvia will also naturally die back. I go ahead and cut it back when it starts to. Then I give it very little water until the weather breaks.

It doesn't need light when it's dormant - it's used to being under the soil!"

Good luck with yours!

This message was edited Oct 2, 2011 10:12 AM

Amanda - what was the room temp for your over-wintering Salvia? I don't really have any unheated space (which would be freezing anyway).

My basement is unfinished/unheated but never seemed to dip below 44 degrees.

If you don't have a basement maybe a dimly lit corner near a drafty door. ;)

A.

Might be able to manage that by the back door to the garage (which is heated, mostly to about 50 in the dead of winter).

Sounds about right. :)

Amanda - Thanks for your help.

Hope it works for you. If not, let me know in the spring and I can send you some cuttings. Mine are all in the ground now. ;)

Thanks for your offer. Hoping I have another week or two before I have to move that big pot. Of course the plant is blooming now since I dead-headed it a month ago.