Re: Salvia arizonica - water?

Interesting to try to interpolate how to water this particular salvia in Victoria, Diane.  

According to Betsy Clebsch in her absolutely fantastic book The New Book of Salvias, S. arizonica grows in "rich and moist soils of Southern Arizona and the Texas-Pecos mountain area of Texas"  It is from high elevations (7000 to 9500 ft) so it is cold hardy.  According to the website Texas Handbook on-line (tshaolnline.org) rainfall ranges from 9 to 15" per year, the higher the elevation, the more rain, and "about three-fourths of the annual precipitation falls during the six warmest months of the year... maximum precipitation in July, August, and September..."  

Now, this is where it gets interesting....   Clebsch recommends well drained soil enriched with humus, a thick layer of mulch and water every 7 - 10 days in hot weather.  Betsy lives in a grassland area on a mountainside west of Santa Clara where (from what she says) it is pretty hot and dry but not as dry as it is down here in Southern California.  She does, if I recall correctly, deal with constant wind and ocean breezes.  I would expect that Victoria would be cooler and wetter (and with richer soil) than where she is.  

So, the question is, Diane, does your salvia need more water than you are giving it?  If you are treating it like a Mediterranean climate plants, it may indeed need a bit more water in summer.  I would deep hand water now and see how it responds.  

Let us know!

Nan



On Jul 6, 2008, at 10:53 AM, Diane Whitehead wrote:

I think I've made a mistake in placing Salvia arizonica with Mediterranean and West Coast plants.  It looked fine until now, but the leaves are starting to shrivel, and it isn't even hot out.

Is this a plant that needs water in the summer?


Diane Whitehead
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
maritime zone 8, cool Mediterranean climate
mild rainy winters, mild dry summers



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