Salvia "hot lips"

Hi,
I bought this as it looked nice to fill a space in my front boarder, it was nice the first year. I hacked it right back after it died off, I thought I had overdone it as it seemed to stay dormant for so long but this year it went mad. It is huge, very pretty and now too big. I wanted to move it but will wait until it dies back (is this right?).
In case I kill it I thought I'd take some cuttings. My book said to mix sand and compost, cut 6-8 inch stems and pop them in holes made by a suitable sized dibber.
I did this about a week ago and put them in the shed next to the window as I don't have a green house (would they be better in the conservatory, warm in the day but v cold at night once heating goes off, big temp fluctuations)
So far the leaves look to be wilting, which I suppose is normal. Not sure how wet to keep the soil.
Probably done this at the wrong time but thought it was worth a go.

Cheers
D

 

I would put the pot in a clear plastic bag (e.g. freezer bag), so it does not loose moisture, and stick it on a North fetching window sill in a spare-room (i.e. which isn't getting any / much heat). Your shed window will do - but if it faces South there will be too much light / heat during the day - the bag will help though.

Open the bag once a week, or so, so that the air can change and not get "dank".

Salvias should root in a couple of weeks - although it may be a bit late now as they are thinking about dying down? (Don't know the answer to that one, so take advice from others on that one).

 

I'll give that a go thanks. How will I know if it has worked or failed?
Is it best to leave them in this way til spring?

Thanks
D

 

Hi Exlabman

'Hot Lips' is only borderline hardy and some people recommend that you lift it now and store it under glass over the winter. So moving it now shouldn't be a problem. I lift a lot of similar shrubby Salvias at this time of the year to overwinter them under glass and they don't seem to mind.

'Hot Lips' is a Salvia microphylla or gregii - the two are very similar, or a hybrid of the two called xjamensis. If you Google different sites they give it different name, but no one really knows the parentage as it was a chance find in a garden near Chiapas in Mexico.

Whilst it loses its leaves over winter, it doesn't die back like a herbaceous plant. Its actually a woody shrub. Like all Salvias it likes a sunny, well drained position.

As Kristen and Marley have said, cuttings certainly needs to be in a polybag as losing moisture is the main problem. And it may be a bit late now. I have never taken cuttings of Salvia microphylla, but I am currently taking cuttings of a lot of other Salvias - but in a light box.

It really doesn't matter how wet or dry the compost is, as until the cutting grows roots it cannot take any moisture from the compost. But what does matter is that it should be in a humid atmosphere - you might like to have a look at this thread - http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/humidiponics-propagation-t30459.html Kristen is right, that without sufficient moisture a cutting won't like to be in strong sun or too much heat. However in the thread mentioned above, my cuttings are in 100% humidity at 28C and in a lightbox, which is the equivalent of strong summer sunshine.

In case your cuttings don't work, you might like to protect your plant with fleece over the winter. Another insurance policy might be to collect some seed.

 

I think 'Hotlips' is a fantastic garden plant. It's a really good 'do-er' which just goes on and on and never seems to sulk. Mine is still in flower, despite some cold frosty nights. I took a few cuttings in September and they seem to have taken - fingers crossed.

 

I took some cuttings of hotlips from a friend this summer. All took really well (in gritty compost with half a plastic bottle over top), two of them flowered a couple of weeks ago, but both were full red, not the white with red tip. Looking into this it appears the flower colouring isn't that stable and growing conditions have a big effect of flower colour (temperature, watering etc). - Just thought that was interesting, I'll have to wait and see what colour i get from the other cuttings next year!

 

Hi Skinmonkey

Yes, 'Hotlips' does change colour according to temperature etc but don't worry, your fully red plants will go back to being bicoloured again eventually!

 

Nice to know:gnthb:

 

If you grow it from seed you could get anything - as the original was a chance seedling, rather than the result of selective breeding.

 

Update:
The plant that previously had all red flowers has re-flowered and now has the classic "hot lips" colouring: white flower red tips. It was in my "hot" green house, but is now in my cold house on a south facing window.........what this means, I''ve no idea.

 

Took some cuttings of this plant a few months ago at college. Recently brought some home in larger pots and they seem to be thriving on my windowsill, almost to the point of keeling over! Looking to take some more cuttings in the next few days to build up my stock, should I just take tip cuttings or do they need to be slightly longer?

 

Hi Cairnsypne

I don't really know the answer to your question as I have only ever taken Salvia cuttings in the autumn. However one thing that I did read, which made sense to me, is that with some things if you just take tip cuttings, the cutting is very young and soft and is more liable to rot off before it can strike. This explains why harder wood cuttings can sometimes be as effective or even more so than tip cuttings - because they have more staying power.

In the autumn I have found Salvia cuttings very quick to strike - often in 10 days or a little more. In answer to you questions I would try a bit of both. If you can give them some bottom heat, I think the process would be speeded up quite a bit. As you know when you take a cutting, its a race between the plant's natural desire to root, and dying from dehydration or rot.

 

I'll have a go now and in the autumn, would've thought tip cuttings would be a good method similar to Fuchsias and what not. Bit of rooting powder and my warm windowsill should do the trick, can't see why they wouldn't work though!