Re: Losing Salvia officinalis
- To:
- Subject: Re: Losing Salvia officinalis
- From: M* T*
- Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 03:05:06 -0400
Well, one of my fav. plants is the purple leaf form of this species. I
have found that they become woody and peter out after about 4 years or so.
But, in my experience, it's not so much water as humidity that they object
to. They don't want to dry out totally, but they do want sharp drainage.
They also get some kind of (probably) fungal rot in my humid climate, esp.
on the interiors, which gradually spreads until the plant dies.
I put one in my sand bed in the fall of '97, along with S. o. 'Berggarten'
- who is really lovely but rots really badly elsewhere in the garden, even
with good drainage - and both are doing quite well - flourishing, I will
hazard to say - with no rotting. Now, of course, we've had a drought this
year instead of a really wet year - that will be the test. But, really
think that in hot, HUMID, climates, a sand bed is the way to go with these
plants. The sand bed is watered every few days in really hot weather, tho'
I do not direct the hose on these two.
I think that your dying plants have succumbed to the "rot" I mentioned and
probably the stems layered were infected and thus have also died. It's
been my experience that once this sets in, the plants days are numbered,
even if you religiously prune off the dying bits. I have managed to get
healthy cuttings from diseased plants - tip cuttings from stems that still
look healthy - and recommend doing it ASAP once you see the browning start
on the plant. There are so many disease of plants and I really don't know
what specific one causes this, but throw it in the general "fungal"
category just because....
FWIW, I give them all the sun I've got...not full day by any means, but as
much as I can muster in my garden. In too much shade, the get really wimpy
and unhappy.
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
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> From: PolarisOn@aol.com
> Date: Wednesday, August 18, 1999 11:39 AM
>
> I hope someone can tell me what I can do to prevent any more of my
Salvia
> officinalis form dying. I'm losing so many of these plants (the well
> established ones and the newer ones). For the past two months large
amounts
> of S. officinalis and S. officinalis 'Tricolor' have been shriveling up
bit
> by bit, then dying out completely. I expect to lose a few of these
salvias
> every summer, I always do, but this is reaching epidemic proportions!
Those
> I've layered from the dying plant will live for a few weeks but
eventually
> die as well. I know they are water sensitive, but none of my experiments
to
> save them works. Advice? Holly
> Zone 8
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