I wish I could walk out the check both, but they are at the other garden. What you describe sounds closer to Cherry Chief - Cherry Queen's leaves are closer to greggii and a rather rich green and if my memory serves does not have a black calyx - once I get past the big planting over the next couple of weeks I can root you some. There are also some cuttings from a stray Cherry Queen seedling and the original plant is about to bloom. Hopefully the flowers won't be too like the parents.

Art:

Both are my introductions. Cherry Queen is a likely hybrid of a red greggii (Furman's Red) with S. blepharophylla, since I found it in the planter with blepharophylla. It has blepharophylla aspects in its foliage, which is linear and smooth-edged; in other words, no microphylla traits. It is also more of a prostrate plant. The leaves seemed folded up along the main vein.

Ward & Rich :
These plants are very upright. I was doubting the growers tag. What was sold here years ago as Sx"Cherry Queen" was not what I have on the tables at work. I will need to order more plant from you this fall Rich so I can see the differences.
Art

Scott Ogden had a red greggii hybrid that looks almost identical to Cherry Queen. It was also supposed to be a greggii x blepharophylla.

Finally after a two years wait a seedling for Cherry Queen will bloom. It grew under the main plant and couldn't find the light. I looked at the real thing this morning and found the calyxes to be a kind of reddish rust not black.

Ward:
Thanks keep us posted on your seedling too.

Rich:
I have a plant from Scott's New Braunfels Garden "Scotts
Red" very close to the ground height is about a foot width is 3-4 feet. I had asked him about the parentage his reply was "did not remember" so good to know. I have a seedling
from that hybrid that is upright same foliage and close to the same color (orange red).
Or is the one your talking about different?

Art

Art, unless one is breeding indoors how the heck does one keep track of parentage. Even a seed sprouting directly under another greggii might have bounced there or been dropped by a goldfinch. Knowing that I making a best guess always bothers me a bit. This year it is tempting to harvest the seeds and thus keep track of one parent.

Most of my released hybrids came in the 80s when I had a small collection of S. greggiis and microphyllas. This included `Plum Winw', `Raspberry Royale', `Cherry Chief', and `Cherry Queen'. `Maraschino' was the first, when I had but one microphylla and a couple greggiis.

Ward:
I use foliage & flower form to ID my microphylla vs
greggii cultivars. The offical taxonomic difference is
a pair of Papillae (Bumps or teats at the base of microphylla which are not present in S.greggii).I use
Comptons form of ID. S.microphylla having several different leaf forms some small,some large and some pointed. The Leaf margin (Microphylla) has small serrations or teeth foliage also shows heavy venation.S.greggii is smooth or entire on the margin and no venation in the foliage.
Hybrids show up right in the middle some venation but
not as distinct as microphylla thus showing the smoother
influence of salvia greggii leaves on the leaf margine
and top.S.microphylla also has some forms ( var.grahamii)
with small foliage and flowers

Rich:
My "Scotts Red"(Ogden) has foliage like "Plum Wine" (Dufresne)and "Raspberry Delight (Salman). Some use to list it as a microphylla but it shows none of the typical microphylla traites. FYI iam am looking at taking a trip
out to the Davis mountains in June. I would like to go
to Mt.Emory and collect some cuttings off some of the salvia we saw growing on the trail Lycioides(?)but they
appeared more like S.coahuilensis.I am not going to collect any regla while there.may also take a look around for some other Salvias.
Art

Art, I am with you on what you are saying, but it can only take a person so far. I have yet to get a hold of any grahamii types and probably should.

Rich, it is amazing that you produced so many hardy types so quickly. The seedlings up here often aren't hardy.

I suspect that my introduced Salvia hybrid's hardiness is due to the fact that I started with hardy parents, and that they arose in trying conditions, so that the wimps perished before I could notice them.

Hybrids that persist in other areas, like the involucrata x mexican hybrids from San Gabriel, LA, are less hardy, but better adapted to Louisiana conditions.

I wondered if all the mulch that was put on the park's salvia row would prevent seed from germinating, but today I noticed quite a few seedlings appearing near the row of microphylla Neurepia plants. I still can't figure out how they managed to break through 3 or 4 inches of leaf mold, but they did.

The seedling from Cherry Queen flower finally bloomed - a rather deep pink.

Ward:
What is the foliage like? Same a Cherry Queen?
Art

It is similar, and it looks as if the growth habit is also similar. It will go into the ground and I did root some cuttings. I haven't forgotten our earlier conversation and once I get past planting at home and at the park I will send you my list.

Ward ;
I am two weeks away from my garden tour so I will let you
know what roots after that is done.
Art