SUPER SALVIAS -2017

Where in the UK are you @Verdun ?

 

Hiya longk
In far s.w. cornwall. Near the coast. Very little frosts and free draining warm soil so most salvias love it

 

@Verdun *envy emoji*

 

Cinnamon.

 

@Verdun I know this is a simple Q, but do you follow a basic time/method guide for taking Salvia cuttings? A few of my varieties appear to have expired overwinter, sadly. Want to take insurance for the ones that have survived!

 

Hiya Ben
Well, summer cuttings, even late summer, do well for me.
Resist the temptation to pot on rooted cuttings in autumn.....just keep them fairly dry and just ticking over. My rooting compost is half mpc and half perlite...salvias root fast and do not get wet over winter
I pot on several times in spring when growth is fast....you will have large flowering plants by early summer then
You dont say which salvias in particular.....the microphyllas often can be layered, even layer themselves; varieties like leucanthemum, uliginosa, etc can be divided and you will see adventitious roots and these can be potted in autumn
The tuberous varieties like patens can be treated exactly like dahlias.....they form tubers that can be pulled apart and potted and kept in gh.
The hardy ones...carradona and the like can be sliced with a spade and replanted in autumn
Hope this helps

 

I agree with @Verdun - there are many ways of propogating depending on the species/cultivar. Here are a few examples;
"Nachvlinder" suckers like crazy and these can be carefully lifted/dug out, cut into sections with a growth point and then potted up.
S.glutinosa can be layered, snipped in early spring the following year when it is back in growth then lifted and potted up or relocated around abouts May time.
S.guaranitica and its cultivars is a tuberous type which spreads by runners. Treat as per "Nachtvlinder".

 

Has anyone grown Black & Bloom?

 

Yes as well as Black and Blue.
Flowers are very similar if slightly larger on Black and Bloom. Black and Bloom does have better foliage but this year it was later into growth, less vigorous and the foliage looks less happy than that of Black and Blue in this cool spring. It could just be that the Black and Blue is a few seasons older, time will tell.

Black and Bloom...............
Salvia "Black and Bloom" by longk48, on Flickr

Black and Blue..............
Salvia "Black and Blue" by longk48, on Flickr

 

I rarely buy plants but on a whim I bought this from Homebase for a simply extortionate sum.........
Unknown Salvia by longk48, on Flickr

It was labelled as S.azurea but I was pretty sure that was incorrect. I'm still not sure what it really is but S.coerulea has been suggested and that does look pretty close.

 

Thank you longk, it was difficult to get a perspective of size on google images & the difference between the two. My local GC has them but they didn't look quite as vigorous as Amistad

 

Whilst both of the "Black and ........." are hardy Amistad is rather borderline.

 

Even better! thanks again Long. Love your salvia pictures. Which others do you grow?

 

It's easier to just give you this link............
Salvia

Some have succumbed to winter, others dug out and given away and some are just annuals.

 

Sorry Ben, missed your post
Salvia cuttings in mid to late summer will make plants sturdy enough to survive winter in a gh.
Different salvias ....some form tubers esp the tender patens; treat these like dahlias. Some are "runners".....uliginosa, leucanthemum for exqmple.....and can be divided. Some can be layered like the microphyllas.......bend down a lower branche or two, nick the stem with a sharp blade and press into the soil. Weigh down with a small stone or bent wire.