I was at a local nursery and they had plants labeled as Salvia greggii 'Apricot'. Flowers were deep apricot fading to yellowish with age. The leaves were more like S. greggii than S. microphylla but some leaves were on the larger & rounder side than normal so those could be "summer leaves" or, possibly, suggests it may be a hybrid, like S. x jamensis.

They were on the pricey side so I passed this time because I am getting 'Lowry's Peach' from another place (at almost 1/3 the price) and wasn't sure if they were the same. When I see a name like 'Apricot', it makes me suspicious that someone just lost the tag for a named cultivar and assigned it a new name based solely on its color.

However, I just got a 40% off coupon so I may go back and reconsider when I'm nearby this week.

I found this when searching and believe it could be the same plant, even though the color is slightly different. Cameras & climates, you know...
http://www.southwestperennials...

@FBTS - Know anything about this one, Oh wise sage sage?

Thanks much for any help!

I'm more like parsley than sage.

You've likely nailed it, Danita. Tags - who needs them anyway? Virtually all the warm pastel colors in this group are x jamensis, as the color range of the true Salvia greggii clones is quite limited.

Thanks Kermit for your info.

Ah, Black Swallowtail Butterflies must give you nightmares, then!
The symbolic meanings of Parsley include "useful knowledge" and "joy" so that seems accurate. You are a fount of useful knowledge and joy to have around.

The 'Apricot' went from a deep, orange-y apricot to a pale, buttery yellow with age. I read, somewhere, that 'Lowry's Peach' doesn't fade as much with age. Does it seem likely that these are two different forms? I've not seen the 'Lowry's Peach' in person yet.

Thanks!

@Danita
That Apricot color is beautiful but Lowry's Peach looks very beautiful also. Good question about the color fading. I was tempted to get a Lowry's Peach but others prevailed for this year. Well there is always fall planting or next year...

Well, with coupon in hand, I succumbed to the dubiously dubbed 'Apricot'.

She was just so pretty! Not seeing any of the butter yellow color on it now, though.

( The first photo was taken in low light so it may make the flowers look more pink than they really are. )




So, does this look the same as 'Lowry's Peach' or is it noticeably different?

Color is so difficult to compare with pictures. There are so many variables.

The bottom picture looks somewhat like Lowry's Peach to me. LP has a distinct yellow throat, which is not clear in these photos.

This is a color family that one does not see particularly often. We've been line breeding for pastel orange shades, and not 1 out of 100 seedlings are even close.

Thanks for the info, Kermit!
Yes, it is almost impossible to tell with photos when it comes to color (especially a tricky color like this.)

It does have a creamy yellow throat and part of the underside of the hood is creamy yellow. Photos of some other cultivars seem to have this, too, so I'm still not sure...and probably never will be!

I'm sad to hear that this is a hard color to breed because it is one of my favorites. I love peach and melon colors!

Out of curiosity, what colors of seedlings are your pastel orange plants mostly producing?
Looking at the flowers on mine there appears to be separate layers of pigment with one layer being pink and another light yellow which overlap to give the "peachy" color.

Danita said:
Out of curiosity, what colors of seedlings are your pastel orange plants mostly producing?
Looking at the flowers on mine there appears to be separate layers of pigment with one layer being pink and another light yellow which overlap to give the "peachy" color.

Mostly red, a few pink and an occasional blush white. We have a very large gene pool, and it generally takes at least 3 generations of seedlings produced by emasculating a flower and using a brush to pollinate before there is any recognizable distribution of parental characteristics. Yellow and peach shades have been quite infrequent.