Re: wilting sages

 >I wonder if anyone has ideas about this.
 >
 >I have a clary sage (the biennial one) which has just started
 >flowering, looking splendid and now the leaves are wilting>

 This sounds like a salvia problem I also experience which I put down to
 sudden heat combined with watering.   There are a few desirable salvias
 which abandon life in November (last month of spring!).  People with cooler
 weather and more constant moisture (Dandenong mountains near Melbourne) do
 not have this collapsing problem nearly as much.

 I particularly love salvia recognita and have seedlings in well watered pots
 collapse in November, also fruticosa behaves the same.   I was surprised
 that leucantha did that as I find it pretty hardy.

 Salvia sclarea should be "grown hard" in areas where you experience
 collapsing, not too rich a soil, incredibly good drainage and not too much
 water.    They set a lot of seed so people usually have a number of them and
 if a small percentage collapse it doesn't much matter.

 I have just had one of my two salvia interrupta plants collapse - the first
 year I have flowered them, and now I find out they are prone to that
 problem.    (Does anyone have any extra seed?)

 I think the plants that collapse are native to rather dry conditions at
 their natural flowering time.  More salvias die from overwater than under.

 Another question:  do you find sclarea needs two years to flower?  If sown
 in autumn here they usually flower the first spring.

 Sue Templeton, Albury, Australia  salvia enthusiast, 28C today.
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