Re: Tropical Salvias ( was Salvia pruning)
- To: M*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Re: Tropical Salvias ( was Salvia pruning)
- From: R* F* D*
- Date: Mon, 4 Oct 1999 20:32:36 -0400 (EDT)
At 08:01 AM 10/4/1999 -0800, you wrote:
>Rich, I am curious about your reference to "tropical" salvias -- which ones
>are tropical and how are you defining the term?
>
>Nan
>**********
>'''''''''''''''''''''''
Nan:
Tropical sages are those that develop the same way tomatoes and other
fast-growing plants do: They have green, thick, succulent stems and
foliage, large leaves with little or no hair. The stems are not wiry and
woody with high-lignin tissues - these are indicative of Mediterranean or
desert plants.
One of the nice things about Salvias is that you can read from their
behavior what their native climate is like. For instance, both S. hirtella
(Ecuador) and S. scutellaroides (Columbia to Peru) act like they love wet
and cool but not cold climates, such as those in the Pacific side of the
Andes at medium high elevations (I'm guessing 8,000 to 12,000 feet). They
put out a lot of lateral growth that roots at the nodes, establishing new
plants quickly. In fact, I propose the common name Andean Blue Ivy Sage for
the latter because of its foliage and very vigorous spreading habit (it
loves to naturalize in coffee plantations). The flowers look a lot less
like a skullcap flower and more like a Teucrium to me.
Richard F. Dufresne
313 Spur Road
Greensboro, NC 27406
336-674-3105
