I had / have about 100-120 different salvias..will have to count again. Some have been lost, new ones added. Last year I was primarily propagating and not getting other things done, neglecting the property and all, so now I'm re-grouping. Getting more areas cleared and planted. It's hard to be able to focus on both...time and energy, you know. Everyday I encounter salvias that I don't have and want....lol...

Oh oh...there it goes again...sorry, Sue. It was taking a very, very long time to load and I thought it didn't go through the first time. The Black and Blue is beautiful with the achillea. I can't grow that here, the gophers love it too much. As soon as it spreads beyond the wire, the gophers manage to get it. I'm not sure if it's a fave with the rabbits.

Salvia dorisiana...wonderful scent... right now growing in a little too much shade. I need to lace the trees a bit to give it a bit more light.

I'm not even going to mess with the double post! Keep right on sharing pictures!

I have managed to kill salvia guaranitica 'Limelight' twice. It apparently likes its current location in part shade in really rich, loose soil around an avocado tree, but it sprawls badly. I don't know that I could keep it cut back enough to keep it more upright and be able to support itself.....

You won't ban me?...lol...

Oh no! We need all the input here we can get, get this CA cubit going and anyone with pictures is always OK in my book!

I wouldn't want to choose, but if I had to, I'd choose the salvia mexicana 'Colima'. It's a sturdy, upright grower and I think the 'congested' inflorescense is much prettier than Limelight's..

Salvia brandegei..one of our 'natives'.....

Salvia gesneriiflora 'Tequila' again...I let her have her lead and she scrambled up through this pine tree to about 15 feet...

Double pictures are fine with me too. What the heck, triple them if you want.

Oooh, carte blanche.....nobody ever lets me do what I want...lol...

No fear of that here, Sherry. Sue and I are very laid back. Do whatever you want. Discuss whatever you want. Just try to avoid criticizing me. I can get really snippy when people do. In my opinion, there's no such thing as constructive criticism. It's all destructive.

I'm especially interested in hearing from others who grow salvia regarding the various microclimates that work for them. Our summer sun has gotten to be occasionally quite brutal down here and I tend to want to place a lot of my salvias in 'gentler' environs. If something thrives for you in full sun in,say, Fresno, Bakersfield, the San Joaquin then I know for sure it's going to do okay in full sun here. I generally don't have to worry about frost, but since we last hit a couple of 107 degree days here, I'm looking for more partial shade and planting more trees for canopy.

Yeah, I'm not real big on criticism, either. I do my own critiquing and the rest I just shine on....I have in my crone years developed quite an ability to laugh at myself, however and don't tend to criticize others.....You know, I think that attitude comes from the cats...I know I've heard at least one of mine say the same thing..."There's no such thing as constructive criticism. It's all destructive."

Well, I started to comment on that Colima - which is to die for - but then there were so many others I liked, I thought, "what the heck." They are all beautiful and I am so jealous.

A few of my Anthony Parkers are showing color, Sherry. Some are nice and bushy, but I need to nip some of them back now that I think they are safe from critters. Gophers got one of my S. madrensis - thankfully, the smaller one - it was planted pre-basket making. None of my salvias grow nice and thick like yours do, but I keep trying!

It definitely does help to pinch the Parkers back several times. My Anthony Parkers have been in the ground several years now and I see that they are developing now into more of a 'patch'...some spreading going on. I like that. Yours will grow thicker..they do with a couple of years on them. Some are trial and error for me, some of the ones that thrive for other people go belly-up on me. Once I have two or three of something then I can experiment more with where they want to live...and I can see the difference in response. Every last one of them but the natives wants to live around my one avocado tree with the best exposure and soil and close to the leach lines and septic also..lol..when I ask which ones get to live there, they all jump up and shout, "Me! Me!" I have a madrensis in quite a bit of shade...first one I had and didn't want to lose it, now I have one in partial shade and after seeing the one you have out in the full sun, I'll put one out there also. The Hot Lips that lives in the 'good place' is incredibly vigorous, has not stopped flowering. One that lives further out, in not really great soil has not been flowering, is not lush. Leucantha is good about growing just about anywhere, but there again, the ones over the leach lines are 'better'. The Parkers seem to be good about growing well wherever they are also.

Salvia chionopeplica / Lavender Baja Sage. This is the first flower...

Salvia microphylla 'Red Velvet'

That red one is so vibrant and love the dark stems and buds.