Agastache and Salvias forum

Canary Island Sage is a large shrub native to the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. It can attain a maximum height of 10', but the average is about 6-8'. The width varies anywhere between 3' and-4'. Its size can be controlled by hard pruning. It's best to prune before it starts to set buds: mid-spring in warmer areas and early summer in the colder areas. The flowers and bracts are a beautiful, showy purplish-pink color. The leaves are large, arrowhead shaped, with white hairs on the undersides, which help it to conserve moisture. It is also fragrant; hard to describe but perhaps similar to California natives? The flowers attract many different pollinators. In my garden it attracts a good diversity of them, including honey bees, bumblebees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, as well as wasps. It can be susceptible to disease, such as powdery mildew and others, as well as to pests, such as aphids and whiteflies. It's best to water from below and keep its area clean and try not to plant it too close to other plants. Also, in my garden it reseeds, but not to a point of nuisance.

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An easy and beautiful perennial for me in zone 10a. Definitely worth growing as an annual for those areas in which it is not hardy, which I believe is up to zone 8. It not only self sows, but also gets bigger each year. It is herbaceous and very easy to divide, so I have more plants each year. Though most report its height topping out at around 2ft, in its third year here it has reached 4ft. It can be prone to powdery mildew so it's best to water from below. Spider mites, white flies and others also attack mine, so I spray with neem oil once in a while and that seems to work well. It attracts beneficial insects, such as bees and butterflies, as well as hummingbirds. In my garden I've also looked on as the lesser goldfinches go for the seeds and comically the stems bend under their weight.

It's also reported to be a good cut flower, which is rare among salvias.

The blue color is beautiful and they seem to pair well with pretty much any other plant and flower color. I have mine next to cuphea vermillionaire, cuphea firefly, with amistad in the back.

They do not require any fertilizer. Deadhead once the flowers start to die to promote more flowering. At the end of the season you can let the flowers go to seed to collect, or you can simply let them self seed. A beautiful versatile garden staple that I think most would enjoy having.

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Scarlet Rooster Sage (Salvia dichlamys 'Super Elk') is a new salvia that was just introduced by Flowers By The Sea. A long season of flowering and a bright color of orange that is sure to attract the attention and delight of hummingbirds. A super salvia and looks to be another winner from Flowers By The Sea that I and others will be interested in growing this year.

FBTS sells, grows and specializes in salivas and is located in Elk, CA.

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This beautiful salvia was discovered by Kathleen Navarez at the Cabrillo College in Aptos, California.

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This is a new, interspecific, seed-propagated cultivar set to be introduced in 2019 by PanAmerican Seed/Ball Horticultural. It is a Salvia longispicata x S. farinacea cross. It currently has PVPAF (Plant Variety Protection applied for) status.

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