Re: Two Salvia questions
- To: M*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Re: Two Salvia questions
- From: R* F* D*
- Date: Fri, 1 Oct 1999 19:42:32 -0400 (EDT)
At 03:08 PM 10/1/1999 -0400, you wrote:
>Greetings,
>Several years ago I purchased a plant labeled Salvia 'Wild Watermelon'
>from Tony Avent at Plants Delight. It has since become a fast favorite,
>much admired by visitors. Does anyone know its history? The leaves
>look like a toss-up between greggii and microphylla-perhaps it is a
>cross between the two?
Salvia microphylla cv. 'Wild Watermelon' is my selection from some plants
collected by Don Mahoney of Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate State Park of
the occasion of a Salvia lecture that I gave in the early 90s. Another
clone from that seed collection is going around California as `Rosita'. The
seeds for these plants were collected at the subalpine level of Cerro Potosi
near Saltillo and Monterrey in NE Mexico, and are pretty cold hardy. This
is a robust plant that spreads like a watermelon and has huge pink flowers
(still the largest I've seen for a straight microphylla - `Red Velvet' is
second) with a white marking in the throat. There are no greggii genes in
this plant.
>
>Second question centers on Salvia discolor, another pet.
> For the past several years I have hand-pollinated it, but it has yet to
>set seed. Is it sterile. If so, do cuttings root easily?
>
>Best,
>Julie Finn
Julie:
Many Salvias are self-sterile. S. discolor is a high elevation plant from
Peru that has adapted well to both the arid Southwest and the subtropical
Southeast. It will have a better chance of setting seed in California for
climatic reasons.
Cuttings can be hard to root when the plant is not going through active
growth. Stem cuttings with firm green growth (no bark, but just above) is best.
Richard F. Dufresne
313 Spur Road
Greensboro, NC 27406
336-674-3105
