Re: Salvia Names
At 06:42 PM 9/28/1999 GMT, tim@eddy.u-net.com (Tim Longville)
wrote:
>Rich - Is it true that S. ambigens [concolor] is now, as a name, defunct? And
>plants previously known as such should now be absorbed into S.
>guaranitica? That's what I've just been told - though looking at
>things under those two names in a friend's garden the other day it was
>hard to believe. A lot of variation in the wild from collections from
>different places??
Getting caught up on my mail after life in the field with a laptop and a
continually bulging inbox. Someone wrote to me, "Ain't the Internet
grand?". How very true! Like penstemon, salvias are genetically
'volatile' plants, making them perfect candidates for adaptive radiation.
A heyday for taxonomists but fantastic plants for long bloom and fall color.
The autumn-flowering salvias are incredibly beautiful now as hummingbirds
enjoy their fill during the warm days. S. blepharophylla, greggii, and
microphylla and some of Rich's fantastic hybrids are all in copious bloom.
Every fall I wonder when both winged jewels and the glittering salvias will
depart. Some years they leave in late October; other years they hang
around into seemingly deep winter. Occasionally a hummer over-winters
probably living on tree sap and insects as well as winter bloom.
I have been wondering how "true" a species S. guaranitica I have in my
garden. It does fit Betsy Clebsch's description to a T, but never gets as
tall as she describes. It would not survive here without some protection
and gets a slow start in the spring which likely diminishes its natural
height. It never gets over a meter tall.
I once had "S. concolor" but under like growing conditions it did succumb
to hard frost. The leaves were more puckered and less minty-looking than
S. guaranitica but flowers were as I recall, identical.
With our long and often cold springs, many salvias really pour their hearts
out in the autumn.
Cheers, Louise
p*@peak.org
Corvallis, ORegon
Mid-Willamette Valley
Cool Mediterranean with occasional hard frost.
Co-Listowner, Penstemon-L
Corvallis, ORegon
p*@peak.org
I see shining fish struggling within tight nets, while I hear orioles
singing carefree tunes. Even creatures know the difference between freedom
and bondage. Sympathy and compassion should be but natural to the human
heart. --Tu Fu.
