Either way....they will bloom in part shade....but also will take full sun.
Linda C

Linda that sounds easy enough! :) Thanks.

Mammie, if you've never grown these before, you will love them! I grow some from seed every year, because I have to have them. Mine, for the most part, are in full sun - but only because I thought that's what they needed! Maybe I'll stick some in part shade (I have a lot more shade than sun) and see how they do this year. BTW, I had several over-winter here for the first time this past winter.

:)
Dee

I've been growing them for years in both part shade and full sun. They do well in both. Though the ones in full sun(7am-2pm) do get larger. Their blooms last forever! The ones that get more sun do reseed nicely the next summer. I haven't bought any for quite a while because of that. They have color that lasts until a hard frost.
Enjoy!

Kat

Just about my favorite annual although some of the originals will come back if the winters aren't too cold. I didn't buy any this year because several "returned" for my enjoyment!

Our club grows several hundred of these every year for a display for the fair. They are displayed inside a metal building without air conditioning for two weeks in July and must survive for the full two weeks. Victoria Blue never lets us down. Al

Wow! The more I read the better I like these plants. Thanks to all of you for the advise. :)

I love this plant but the last couple of times I planted it, it didn't seem to get going till late July, August. That was many years ago. When does it typically bloom, for those of you growing it similar zones?

Pam, you're right. The first time I grew Victoria, I planted it in a bed with lots of roses, hoping for simultaneous bloom. Well, I was very disappointed, because it didn't bloom until around early July, and then I thought I wouldn't grow it again. However, it looked fantastic all summer, and it bloomed well into November for me, and it did look good with the second flush of roses. That did it for me - I've grown it ever since.

I will add that I grow mine from seed, so I don't know if that makes a difference in bloom time. It may bloom sooner if you buy it as a plant from a nursery.

Here is a picture of it with rose Mary Rose from last fall - November to be exact! Sorry for the poor picture quality, but you can get the idea of how great it looked with the late roses.

:)
Dee

Here is a link that might be useful: Mary Rose and Victoria

WOW gorgeous, Dee! Yes, it's still worth it even if they are late! Going to look for some tomorrow :)

WOW indeed! :) I love the colors of both. Thanks for sharing, dee.

A bit of advice for those Victoria Salvia. If you want to keep the plants bushy and loaded with blooms, you should pinch the plant down the main stem. This will force all the growth into new stems all around the main stem, which will result in more flowers, very bushy like, and will bloom constantly the whole season. I do this pinching when my seedlings are very young, but you can still do it now with your pack plants. Victoria is a staple in my garden and all my public gardens, not only the blue victoria, but also the white ones, the 'Strata',and now this year there is a new one (new for me) called 'Evolution'. Salvia farinacea (sp) is the best salvia species in my book!

In my zone, these salvias could actually be called a hardy annual, because they come back every year for a lot of us. I rely on it as much as dianthus. However, I never have enough of it so I do more from seed every year.........this year I did 1000 of Victoria alone! By the way, you can collect the seed easily from these also.

Ellen, thanks for the pinching tip. I'll do that. How about water? Do they like much?

Victoria is a tender PERENNIAL plant, not an annual. Salvia farinaceae 'Victoria'. I don't know the actual hardiness range of the roots, but mine come back every year to bloom most of the growing season.

I WS'd these this past winter and now after reading this thread I went out and sowed another flat of them - sounds like a wonderful plant. This fall I will look for the other two colors and try them too

Ellen what color is 'Evolution' ***hoping for pink or rose***....

Lynne

How about water needs?

Look up the hardy Salvia group, Salvia X supurba (sylvestris). There is a pretty one called 'Rose Queen' that might suit you. It is a rose hued salvia, though it certainly has blue in it (I think). Don't believe that you'll find a hot pink perennial salvia.

'Evolution' is a very pretty plant with violet inflorescences.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:12639}}

Hi mammie,

Once established they require very little water. I don't think I've ever watered my overwintered plants, even in drought conditions. They are quite tough. I agree that you will be thrilled w/these, enjoy!

Hey Juicy! Thanks for the water info. I watered mine quite a bit when I planted them so hope I didn't overdo it.

One of my favorites here. Great wherever I need a blue spike accent. Blooms effective all season. No care provided once planted. It survived winter this year but did not the previous 2.

In this picture note two groups on each side of the yellow daylily. Behind lavendar clump.

{{gwi:12640}}

Harryshoe, what a beautiful and peaceful setting! All your plants look great. Thank you for sharing the pic. Looks like I'm gonna love these VBs.

What a lovely patio!!! I wants it, my preciousss

Harryshoe, I've made a fresh pitcher of herbal iced tea. I'll be RIGHT over! There's enough for EVERYbody!

I'm leaving to gas up the car and I'll be on my way. LOL

I cant wait to see my 'Evolution' blooms this year. In the catalogs, the photos look the same to me as 'Victoria', so I am interested in seeing the difference.

I am not familiar with any other farinacea Salvias besides 'Victoria, 'White Victoria', 'Strata', and now 'Evolution'. I confess that I havent researched much (nooooo time to sit on the computer!!!!), but since we are on the subject, any other good farinaceas to recommend?

Thanks for all the info-it is helping me know I made the right choice this year. I'm in charge of planting the UAW Hall for my garden club, and chose perennial blue hill salvia(early),victoria saliva (later), with red geraniums surrounded by lamb ear. We put in a soaker hose because everything just fries out there, and another gal who waters alot had huge wonderful salvia last year.

Chris that sounds like it's going to be pretty.

Harryshoe, your sitting area is gorgeous! I've got just the right place for it in my yard... I'll show that pic to hubby when I've formulated the best way to present it.

Fantasy:

Me: Honey, look at that lavender!
Hubby: Oh, is that lavender? What about that patio? Why don't we do something like that?
Me: Great idea!
Hubby: Ok, I'll grab a tape measure. Let's go outside!

In my dreams :)

Here's an update on the VB Salvia. I planted some in various sun and semi shady places. The ones with more sun are doing better than the ones in shadier places. I am surprised at how much water they need. They seem to get wilty pretty fast for me BUT I love the color and will be looking for them again next year. Anyone grown them from seed?

Mammie, once they get fuller they'll start shading the ground so they won't dry out so fast. I do mulch mine so that helps keep down the watering. Also, some plants will wilt during the hot days, but when the sun goes down they'll perk right up. If they don't perk up, then they need a watering. When the flowers on the stalk get greyish/white pinch off the flower stalk. You'll be rewarded with flowers all summer into fall.
The past few years I've had mine reseed. They do take longer to flower when grown that way. When I bought them in packs, they were blooming by mid to late June. They weren't real big then, but it was nice to see the color.
Enjoy!

Kat

I'm hoping for some reseeding here too, Kat. :)

Hi mammie,

I winter sow a flat every yr. and it seems like every seed germinates. They are very, very easy. As mentioned, they also reseed (usually) but I always sow some just in case!

Mammie, I suspect that they are wilting because they are not getting water deeply enough into the soil. I have found these plants to be wonderfully tolerant of hot, dry conditions, but I make DARNED sure that when I do water them, that the soil is saturated several inches deeply.

Too often, I 'think' that people water the mulch really well but don't get enough water into the soil system.

I'm here in Northern Alabama, where rainfall has been something that we dream about and hope for! And my soil is hard, red clay.

I have always had very good luck with Victoria Blue Salvia. This year, however, is a different story.
I had planted approx. 30 established seedlings this spring. Almost all of them have produced slightly deformed new growth. Also, the plants are producing A LOT of foliage, and little flower spikes. The spikes that are present are weak and not the deep blue I am used to. The colour is light blue/gray and the buds easily fall off if touched. I had noticed some aphid on some of the plants but quickly got rid of these with some pyrethrum spray. Any comments??

Leigh, did you have a lot of cold weather when you first planted them? That could have affected them. Our spring here averaged 10 degrees cooler than the norm and we had many cold nights around 40 or even a little colder. Things were really off to a slow start, whether by seed or small plants from the nursery. I saw I had posted in this thread 3 yrs ago and mentioned how I hadn't bought plants in several yrs because they reseeded so well. Well, this is the 1st year I've had to buy some. I was really surprised I had only 2 seedlings come up. Our weather has warmed up the past 2 wks, so maybe I'll see some more, but I bought some anyways. Have you tried fertilizing them? I use one that has the middle number the highest for flowering plants.
Hope yours pick up soon!

Kat