Salvias in containers, what are your experiences?

Gardener off to Aldi for couple of their bags of compost (and I bet she buys more of their ceramic-looking plastic pots!!) I've just collected masses of Jezebel seeds, they are so prolific! They included a percentage of 'green' seeds, which I usually include, but of course never know if they germinate. Could separate I suppose but not sure I need too know? Or am I being defeatist?? Has anyone any experience of sowing not quite ripe seeds???

 

S. sagitta Blue Butterfly flowers, these are the inflorescence. Each florets is relatively small (when compared with Patens for example, but the spike is strong and very prominent. There are two plants in the pot so four spikes in all at present, each having five inflorescence, so more to come. Much more spindly than the aforementioned patens where the flowers are much bigger and the inflorescence shorter. I also like the spear-shaped leaves on the sagitata. Yes I'm really enamoured!! Hoping the one amongst the red ones in the garden performs as it did last year in its pot, on its own!
The other photo is of a 'clump' of three seed-sown Jezebels which must be 1.5M across!! It really is a great red and so fecund, much more soo than a cutting!

 

That blue is a lovely colour Glynne and that is a nice clump of red. I took three cuttings of my pinky peach one this morning to root in water so

 

U-tube showing a video about growing Salvia Victoria Blue!!! I was searching Growing Salvias from seed. Very interesting! She shows picking seeds up with a dampened toothpick, dampining down the sown seeds, covering with polythene and placing on heated mat. I use an electrical propagator though where you live should be warm enough I'd of thought? Worth a look?
You'll find places that sell Salvia seeds easily on the net I'm sure. Others on here will list some sites I'm sure!

 

I sow seeds directly outdoors. I have several eBay sites I use but most don't have unusual ones. Sadly I now can't use the UK sites for plug plants. I would rather pay for plants than seed myself. Instant garden. At my age I have no desire to wait.

 

Just noticed in the last photo I posted above of Jezebel that if you enlarge the centre of the picture you will see some seed-beaŕing ex-flowers! I mention this for folk who have never collected seed from their Salvias. Obviously if you continuously dead-head them you'll never get/see seeds. Have a look!

 

Beyond Blue producing seed, though still green so left on plant for now. Patens (Oxford Blue) showing itself, usually good seeder! Wish they grew as fast as the red varieties! Bees still on Nachtflinder so perhaps some seed there later. My seed grown Blue Note ready for the ground but holding back as so hot/dry! Could be away for beginning of next week so thinking about watering, though believe in allowing plants to go looking down for a drink! It slowing down planting Foxglove seeds, which is late anyway!

 

Pink Amistad beginning to flower! Bought as small plant some weeks ago and potted up. Will need a bigger pot methinks and put outside, but will bring indoors for this Winter. Lovely, healthy plant though!

 

Not my cup of tea but I am tempted for my parents garden. The 'real' Amistad survives quite happily there.

 

The Pink is excellent, so far, but time will tell! 'Normal' Amistad is great plant but very slow, just beginning to show!! Front of house much colder so perhaps move it? Could always bring it in, I suppose, but chances are just cuttings!! I've got one plant grown from half dozen collected seeds (yes one seedling only survived!!! However one plant at least will get put in a container, if only to get earlier flower!!

 

Here's the Pink Amistad in a pot,, doing well! The smaller stuff are some Connfertiiflora cuttings of flowering shoots that were decapitated first but have some good root systems!

 

And here the 'Gone to seed' S. patens Cambridge Blue and Beyond Blue. Still green and obviously preventing further flowering spikes for a couple of weeks to allow seeds to mature! I can then cut spikes down for next years seed, and let them flower again before September!

 

Done it again! Uploaded picture of a container with S. Joan with a couple of annual Rudbeckia as contrast to the pink. ( last pic above) Joan is a tremendous salvia in my opinion. Hardy here even in a pot!

 

The gone to seed S. Beyond Blue has three ripe flowering shoots, so I've extracted two seeds from each floret. So 14 seeds (a couple rolled off into the carpet!! There are still some shoots to ripen, I.e. when ripe florets turn yellow and dry. They are in two parts so only need to be pulled apart. Care! When dry the seeds can easily drop out!!! I will store the seeds in small transparent packets (from previous seed purchases!)

 

S. sagitata Blue Butterflies is becoming a favourite! I grew one in a pot last year, brought it indoors for Winter and now it's still in it's pot but out amongst the red Salvias. So this year I bought two more in 9cm pot and I've got them in another blue pot!!. Just now it's got it's typical inflorescence, and together with its spear shaped leaves is wonderful, I think!!!