Super Salvias 2014..

I'll take a more conventional photo tomorrow - only others I've got right now are:

 

@colinn - it certainly looks more like Amistad should (colour aside) from that angle! Thanks.

 

I saved some plants of Hot Lips from last year - except this year they are not so hot. I'm sure there was more red than white last year, but this year the predominant colour is white. Can this happen or am I imagining it?

 

some full-plant pics - with more true-to-life colour:

 

As I see it Hot Lips is just an unstable offspring of a white and a red S.microphylla (I could be wrong) so it is (IMO) to be expected.

@colinn - it looks right to me. Amazing the difference that the angle and correct colour makes.
I read elsewhere that you have several Salvia - which other ones do you have?

 

As far as I can tell they are the same plants, not seedlings. Can this still happen? How?

 

The plant (as I see it) is an offspring that occurred but is not stable, hence the colour variations. I'm assuming that it is vegatively (spelling?) reproduced as if it were ever to produce seed (never did for me) it would revert to either the red or white form.
When I grew Hot Lips my plant over about three years mostly turned to the red genes with just the odd white or mixed bloom thrown in.

 

Just nemorosas - you can see some of them in the pic at the foot of the amistad - coming back into flower after being hacked back to new growth some weeks ago.

Although I have this very day gone out to get some hostas and instead come back with three more salvias - another amistad and a couple of s. uliginosa - bog sage - my interest has been pricked it seems

 

Could be, colour from your later photos looks correct - my Amistad is a strong dark colour - bit leggy but I doubt that is down to the variety!!. Saliva Amistad has Plant Breeder Rights so the label should say that (if not either Homebase are being naughty, or it isn't ...)

 

Hi Im a very new very un green fingered gardener ...I have some Ornamental Sage "SensationDeep Rose" in two half barrels and now 99% of the flowers have gone brown im told its time to cut back stems ...Do i cut back to where flowers end and leaves start ?????..........

 

Yes. Unless you want it to set seed that is, in which case just leave it alone. It will die back to the ground in most winters anyway.

 

What are pros and cons of both if I cut back OR if I just leave alone ??

 

Pros are that you maybe get a stronger plant by cutting, maybe get more plants by not. No real cons either way. As long as it's planted in the right spot it's as hardy as they come.

 

Well as I say i have a plant each in two barrels planted centrally surrounded by Purple "Trailing Petunia " and it has looked good ..so what would yu reccomend I do ...To Cut or not To Cut lol that is the question

 

Run a trial - cut one leave the other.
Cutting may encourage it to rebloom, but I find second flushes are rather second rate.