[medit-plants] Re: plants to identify

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Hi Jeanne -

This looks like Salvia leucophylla to me.  This is a California native species that is often planted in gardens.  It is interesting to me because it goes semi-dormant in summer, losing a lot of leaves and growing smaller, grayer (almost white) leaves.  When I grew this plant, I would often cut is back as it was entering this phase, making a compact mound.  In the fall, with the rains, it would quickly grow back into what you have pictured.  The flowers are a bluish pink, even though it is sometimes called 'purple sage'.

The hybrid already mentioned in this thread - 'Bee's Bliss', a chance seedling discovered by Roger Raiche at the UC Botanical Garden and named by Marcia Donahue - is considered to have S. leucophylla as one parent.  It is low growing and the flowers are definitely blue.

Seán O.
https://seanaohara.wordpress.com/

On Fri, Apr 7, 2017 at 10:16 AM, Jeanne Bardems <j*@gmail.com> wrote:

Thank you all for your help!!

The Salvia is bushy and the flowers are lavender pink. here is a closeup (sorry for the poor photo quality).

On Thu, Apr 6, 2017 at 9:46 AM, Bracey Tiede <t*@pacbell.net> wrote:

It does look like Salvia ‘Bee’s Bliss’ but the flower color is wrong. BB is bluish, not pinkish. A closeup of the flower would help.

 

Cheers,

Bracey

 

From: medit-plants-bounce@freelists.org [mailto:medit-plants-bounce@freelists.org] On Behalf Of Design
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2017 8:37 AM
To: m*@freelists.org
Subject: [medit-plants] Re: plants to identify

 

Hi Jeannie,

 

I just read through the other responses and was struck by how varied the answers are from people I know to be really knowledgeable about plants. Do you have any photos showing the overall plants so we can see how they grow? My first thought on the second photo is that it reminds me of Salvia 'Bee's Bliss', which is a spreading ground cover. Phlomis purpurea and Salvia x clevelandii are both upright shrubs (more or less), and a photo of the whole plant would clarify which plant is more likely.

 

Cheryl

-------- Original message --------
From: Jeanne Bardems <j*@gmail.com>
Date: 4/5/17 4:11 PM (GMT-08:00)
To: m*@freelists.org
Subject: [medit-plants] plants to identify

Hi people,

I was visiting a friend today and as we walked around her neighborhood in Berkeley, I found these two plants which are unfamiliar to me. If any of you might know, I would be so grateful.

Jeannie B