Re: Salvia arizonica - water?

I find that though many people arbitrarily lump the desert southwest of our
country and with mediterranean climate California, but their climates a
distinctly different.  Some of the plants from those parts can adapt to our
summer dry climates - those that are of the 'opportunistic' type (i.e. growing
WHENEVER conditions are good enough) - but some of that flora is adapted to
receiving rain mostly in summer.  if you live near the fringe of these two
climates (a good portion of south-eastern CA) you'd have notice the difference
in the rain patterns.

Seán O.

Seán A. O'Hara
sean(at)gimcw.org
www.hortulusaptus.com

> 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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