Re: Hi from L.A.--salvia question from the newcomer

At 08:46 PM 5/17/00 -0700, Laura Cooper wrote:
>I am happy to be signing on to the group, and hello to Sean especially! Nick
>and I enjoyed your visit to L.A. immensely, thank you for introducing us to
>the discussion group. Ever have any luck finding out what the Salvia with
>red greggi flowers (a tad larger) and long wandering almost black shiny
>stems is? You took some cuttings with, hope they rooted for you--
>happy matilija poppies,
>Laura Cooper

Laura -

Well, I finally got a chance to have a phone conversation with Betsy Clebsh 
about this Salvia in your garden.  She was able to tell what I was talking 
about almost before I had completed my short description.  The moment I 
remarked that the stems were what was interesting, she knew immediately.

For the group who is out of the loop with regard to this, Laura showed me 
this large, bushy sage in her garden with deep, dark, wine-red stems that 
have a narrow white line on each side, extending from the leaf node up to 
the next node, to be started again 90o degrees from the first (following 
the opposite arrangement of all Salvia foliage.  A very intriguing effect 
at close range!

This is a form of Salvia microphylla (grahamii) that Huntington brought 
back from Belize in the 60s or 70s.  It can grow pretty tall, about 4-6ft, 
and as wide.  It differs from the many other S. microphyllas in the trade 
in blooming more or less all year round, and being more frost tender 
(though apparently perfectly hardy down in So. California where you 
are).  S. microphylla is closely related to S. greggii and its group, but 
tend to become bushier and denser in growth over time.  This one seems to 
attain a large size and should be given lots of room.

Betsy says she does not grow this plant at the moment, but there are some 
still around.  I managed to find a photo at Monterey Bay Nursery's web site 
that shows the stems faintly in the background in the upper left hand corner:
http://www.plantpictures.com/S/salvmbl1.jpg
(group - In this picture, it almost looks like reflected light off the 
stem, but they really do have these white stripes.)  Luen (of Monterey Bay 
Nursery) calls this S. microphylla 'Belize form', which is an acceptable 
name based upon Betsy, who also mentions this form in her book, A Book of 
Salvias.

So, if you don't find a plantlet, and if I cannot manage the cuttings 
again, I would have some sort of resource down here.

We look forward to seeing you and Nick again in July!
Regards,
Sean O.

Sean A. O'Hara                       sean.ohara@groupmail.com
h o r t u l u s   a p t u s          710 Jean Street
'a garden suited to its purpose'     Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
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